Minimum Wage of Mayhem

Planet of the Giallos

2012-01-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

WFMU's "Beware of the Blog" a ways back unearthed a test reel from Edward G. Robinson. More back story over here.

And on a similar cinematic note, here's an intro to giallo movie themes by Giallo Music & Themes 101: http://attheexpenseofthelistener.blogspot.com/search?q=giallo

From the guy in Tampa that does the fantastic Doomed Moviethon blog.

Best of 2011

2012-01-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

Intro

A LOT of what I saw getting on to others lists and hyped (be it in overground or underground circles) was a lot of “pretty good” or “halfgood”. Maybe its just time for a change but I’ve stepped away from a lot of theusual Black/Death/extreme Doom Metal, particularly the majority of new bands. If I never cared much about the glut of “dood, totally amazing nukleargoatfagosludgedeathtwarwankmetal”acts when I wasn’t too crazy about some of the stuff that influenced in thefirst place? (i.e. Incantation, Blasphemy). Basically it was hard to get excitedabout it as I had in previous years. Part of this was likely due to the generalboredom & burnt out. Still, there were a few good things here& there within all the crud.

Also, this was the first year I’ve made a list where I wasn’tdoing a radio show. With that I think its allowed me to listen to things forlonger and appreciate stuff instead of hear the first 10-15 seconds and ignoreit ‘cause it didn’t immediately grab me.Additionally, found a lot of greatreleases in other genres.

Unlike other years, these are in order of preference.

1. Of The Wand and the Moon - The Lone Descent (Heidrunar Myrkrunar/Audio Globe) Denmark's Kim Larsen (and guests noteably John Murphy of SPK and Knifeladder) keep improving this mix of neo-folk and sullen ballads. However this album should really be heard outside of the usual neo-folk/gothic realm and for what it simply is - a collection of brilliant, very remarkable songs.

2. Amebix – Sonic Mass (Amebix Records/Easy Action)Yeah, it’s sounds like Amebix and one of their primary influences, KillingJoke. Don’t come ‘round expecting “Arise Part II” and just take it for what itis - a challenging record that forces you to hear them in a different setting.This pays off real well.

3. White Hills – Hp-1 (Thrill Jockey) Heavypsych/tripped out NYC trio/sometimes quartet released a lot of stuff in 2011but this was their most consistent and a sign of what they’re capable of doing.They’re not just slamming down on the wah pedal for all eternity (but they’redamn good at doing just that, when it’s needed) and can space things out(literally and figuratively).

4. Ulver – War of theRoses (Jester/K-Scope) This took a few spins to get into but it was wellworth it. Melancholic pop and ambience with touches of jazz and classicalminimalism. Wolves evolve as bandleader, Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg said many an album ago and this another fine example.

5. Midnight – Satanic Royality (Hell’s Headbangers)Nothin’ too fancy or frilly - just riffs, attitude and diabolic incantationsthat invoke Venom, Motorhead and Bulldozer with even moreblood curdling but super catchy vocals. This ain’t trendy or intentionallyanti-trendy – just really down & dirty HM the way the dark lord intended.Along with Atomizer and Aura Noir, these guys have earned the keys to the 7gates of hell.

6. King Dude - Love (Dais) Echo-y, one man neo-folk act fromSeattle (who really surprised me to find out that it was TJ Cowgill ofblack/death metallers Book of Black Earth) invoking everything from the veryunder the radar Changes to Leonard Cohen to at times even darkcountry folk tunes.

7. AntiSeen – Exploding Barbwire Death Match - 7”(Green Mist) The gods of the TRUE Rock N’ Wrestlin’ connection continue theirmayhemic ways with this ode to Japanese hardcore action featuring an ode toMr.Pogo and Atushusi Onita’s brutal match described in full on title track.Also, keep on tearin’ it up with “Kill the Scene” a nasty cover of JeffClayton’s brother’s band, Mad Brother Ward and The Screamin’ Street Trash.They close it out with a cover of Cocknoose’s deadly good squared circlemanifesto – “Invader #1 Must Die”. If you don’t know why they feel spite towards Mr. Gonzales go here). Bonus points for performing the title track on Chic-A-Go-Go in front of abunch of confused dancing kids & their moms.

8. Zombi – Escape Velocity (Relapse) OK, so they ditched most of their Goblin influence for waves of Italo-disco & Giorgio Moroder – I’m OK with this as it’s pretty hypnotic streams that at its best remind me of the in-between bits of ads for San Francisco’s Exploratorium circa: 1978 and other related 70’s futurism.

9. Oneothrix PointNever – Replica (Software/MexicanSummer) Electro-trip out ambience on one part. Weird cut ups, loopy warp-ageon the other part. More of the first but the other part is quite interesting. It's far more than a guy on his lap top cutting up Mr. Coffee ads or checking his e-mail in some dull club.

10. SubRosa - No Help for the Mighty Ones (Profound Lore) - Great mix of Doom Metal, and I dunno...a really moody version of The Pixies as Kim Pack's vocals remind me of another Kim (as in Deal). Curious to hear what their next one's gonna sound like.

11. Negative Plane – Stained Glass Reflections (AnjaOffensive) One of the few Black Metal releases that really kept my interestand attention. Lots of unpredictable change ups including a lot of twangy,almost surf tones along with other sort of early 60’s style twang influencedguitar, natural bass & drums, grim but expressive vocals instead of a generic,bored growl. Listen on headphones to get the full experience.

12. V/A:Urfaust/Celestial Bloodshed - split 7”(Terratur Possessions) Urfaust creates more slow, winding warbly darknesswith simple drumming is what you find here another way gone “ohh-aahhhh” chorusleading down into the dungeons of an evil baron’s castle which “typicallyuntypical” of Urfaust i.e.- it’s completely worthy. Norge’s Celestial Bloodshedbrings a pretty killer, raw but very loud thrashy Black Metal attack withroaring vocals & no time for bullshit. Sort of similar of their countrymates Koldbrann. Fuuuck, I wish I bought this now that it goes for $100 on discogs.

Runners Up:

Sun Araw – AncientRomans (Sun Ark) Very interplanetary, melted psych oddities of celestialorgans and spacious dub-drippings drooping down upon the galaxy. Yeah, I dig itbut didn’t hear it ‘til 2012.

Lykke Li – WoundedRhymes (Atlantic) – Don’t care what the cool/uncool police say. I like atleast ½ of it. Must be the melancholic Swede in me and there’s plenty of ithere but I wish she’d not drag out choruses such as the one on “UnrequitedLove” or drill in your ears the overused/abused “girl group” thing that everyone &their dog’s doing now (see “Youth Knows No Pain”). Otherwise, a pretty fineeffort.

Barn Owl – Lostin the Glare (Thrill Jockey) – This’ll take some more time to get into I think.For now it seems as if their quiet bits are just too quiet but overall aninteresting mix of slowed down strums, lots of space between notes and psych.

Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light (Southern Lord) Yep, they're still plenty pastoral and twangy but this was a too samey for an entire album to get into 100%.

Absu – Abzu(Candlelight) – No question they can play like mad and make someinteresting Black er…”mythological occult Metal”. Yet this time out the songsjust speed by too fast without enough identity or moments long enough to latchon to. These songs might work well live but not so much on the record.

N.K.V.D. - Vlast(Those Opposed) French industrial Black Metal which sounds much more of theformer than the latter. However, they do mix the bombast of both styles quietwell along with a historical and lyrical focus on (mostly) recent history inEurope and Russia. Each song is its own chapter on a specific topic, namely thevery Thorns (Norway) sounding “Geheime Staats Polizei” deals with the Gestapo.Otherwise, the rest of the songs are focused on Milosevic and various membersand events in the Cheneya region (namely Grozny, the Alkhan-Khan operation andKrasnodar Krai). Lots of promise in this act, hopefully they’ll do more topicaltunes of terror and totalitarianism in the future. However, it might not besomething I’d put on all that much, mind.

Hot Graves – Necros Mixos Sacrifico (Self-released)– Florida-based Black/Punk Metal meisters of a high order. Noultra-cult/collector nerdshit here. Just honest & real covers of several oftheir influences & inspirations done with their blackened hearts in theright place. Cover tunes of The Accused, Midnight, Floor, Roky Erikson, Discharge, Pentagram,and a Gwar/Cannibal Corpse maggot medley. Nice to hear not only the range ofcovers but the range of the talents – especially vocally.

Hell – Human Remains(Nuclear Blast) – Traditional HM from the UK whose roots go way back to1982. I can remember reading about their 2^nd demo in Metal Forces in’84. Very good, theatrical vocals very catchy chorus but the downside isthere’s far too many intros/interludes for it to work all the way. If they justgutted that, made a shorter release with the straight up songs it would be in ahigher position.

Condemned 2 Death –C2D (Nuclear Blast) – Modern hardcore done by a bunch of old schoolers withan Attitude Adjustment connections. I remember their name appearing on severalmix tapes & denim & leather jackets from my sister’s punker friendsback in the 80’s. They’re back and sounding just OK but a tad too modernhardcore polish ‘ala much of what’s on Bridge Nine. However, the best part isthat it comes with their first 7”, first EP/LP and demos which in this case aremuch better. Interesting to see they were one of the first ever bands signed toNuclear Blast. Much rather hear this than the same ‘ol “hardcore hit parade” inthe bars of S.F.

In Solitude – The World, Flesh, The Devil (Metal Blade) SwedishMercyful Fate worship but with quite a bit of interesting riffs and moods oftheir own. As good as their songs can be in places they have a tendency to draga bit especially in the middle of the album.

Kypck - Below (Yellow House) Finns making melodicbut still quite heavy doom Metal in Russian with a number of historical relatedlyrics in Russian. The album title means “beneath or below” very interestingstuff. More here.

Prurient – BermudaDrain (Hydra Head) Haven’t heard anoise or noise-related album in a long time that’s actually done something tocaptivate my attention. With Domick Fennrow now part of Cold Cave, I’m surehe’s had to fend off notions that their synth based sound is now overlappingwith his solo works but regardless, this is some trippy electronics. Prob. theonly thing I’ve been able to enjoy on Hydrahead in a long time, too. “A MealCan Be Made” is the best Skinny Puppy tune they never wrote. Mind bending,pulsating electronics. The album ender “Sugar Cane Chapel” sounds as if M83’sbeing tortured by left over bits of Whitehouse & Boyd Rice.

Megadeth – Thirteen– The guitars sound great, but the songs are just floating in nothing-ness forthe most part. Going on Alex Jones’ show just proved Mustaine’s just gettingweirder and weirder and not in the cool Urfaust way.

Nazareth – Big Dogz(Eagle) – Not their best by far and no Manny Charlton on guitar (but JimmyMurrison’s no slouch). However, there’s no question that Dan McCaffetry canstill belt it out and it’s plenty good to see ‘em still around.

Prince Rama – TrustNow (Paw Tracks) One of the bands I heard a lot on KFJC & WFMU butthey’re half “whoa what’s this crazy, way gone stuff!??!” and half “what's with this wailing shit?” So, it’s a compromise but I just wish it was more ofthe first.

Satan’s Host – By TheHands of the Devil (Moribund) – Would’ve liked this much more with itwasn’t for the drum triggers. Still, Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin is still ahelluva singer.

Volture – Shocking It’sPrey (Heavy Artillery) Lots of Priest, Priest and more Priest. But insteadof Sin After Sin it’s Ram It Down. Not bad but heard it 10,000x before.

Zodiac Free Arts Club– Floating World (Permanent Vacation) Greece via Germany early 70’s style trippedout electronic throbs & blips that’s more a current version of TangerineDream or Vangelis?

St. Anger awards forcraptastic levels of achievement:

Botantist - ConvolvulusAlthaeoides (Tumult) - By the belly of Horgh – what a bunch of novelty crap masquerading as Black Metal. Morbid Angel -Illud Divinum Insanus(Season of Mist) – “Radikult” & soulless drums need I saw more? Litgury - Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey) – Really this should have about as much impact onBlack Metal much less Heavy Metal as Stephen Hawking would in a steel cage vs.Necro Butcher. James Ferraro – FarSide Virtual (Hippos in Tanks) He’s gone of the deep end with his new ageobsession. Metreedica - “Lulu” (Warner Bros) – Asawful the ballads on “Load & Reload” & Lou selling Honda motorcycles inthe 80’s only worse? Fucked Up - David Comes Alive (Matador) - Bruce Springsteen goes "punk rock opera"? Count me out. Venom – FallenAngels (Spinefarm) The good: Cronos vocals & bass sound. The bad: the songssound he’s singing over 90’s Metallica. Check out “Hammerhead” and “Punk’s NotDead” and you’ll know what I mean. It’s not 1000% horrible but no Abandon andno Mantas = no Venom. (Much less no Cronos, which they already tried &failed with).

Best Reissues of 2011 and more

2012-01-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

REISSUES:

1. Evil Blood – Midnight in Sodom – LP (Buried by Time and Dust) I had listened to the fuck out of my MP3s & various youschlub clips of their demos. Furious Heavy/Thrash/Speed Metal from Croatia in the very beginning 1983-85. Honestly in league with “Kill ‘Em All”, the 1^st Metal Church & Holy Terror. Croatian/ex-Yugo Metal, much less most Eastern Euro Metal from the 80’s doesn’t get enough respect but this COMMANDS IT!

2. Noothgrush – Erode the Person (Blind Date), 1994 demo (Fuck Yoga). I’ve been following these guys since their 2^nd demo- these are essential for anyone that likes harsh doom and sludge metal. Lyrically they range from the political, historical to the silly but always very heavy & punishing.

Satan – Into the Fire/Kiss of Death LP + demo 7” (Buried by Time and Dust) – One other thing I listened to a LOT this year was more NWOBHM. This band always piqued my interest but they were often the case of “oh, I’ll get that next time”. Well, next time turned out to be 2011 but this LP/7” set was defo. worth my $$. Like Sabbath they were blessed with three phenomenal vocalists. In this case we have Trevor Robinson, Ian Swift and later Brian Ross (who didn’t join ‘til after these original demos & 7” were recorded in 1981-82). And really this band’s influence on Metallica and Megadeth has to be discussed more. Listen to “Oppression” from 1981 and you’ll know why.

3. V/A: Those Shocking Shaking Days (Now Again) Excellent mix of Indonesian soul, funk, psych, prog, pop and hard rock from 1970-78. Great drumming on nearly every tune (what was it about 1970s drumming – seems like nearly everyone had a killer tone & style). Interesting to note that these songs were made during the era of the U.S. backed Surharto dictatorship. The moody prog of Shark Move’s “Evil War” underscores the frustrations of the time. Thankfully that bastard is wormfood and these artists music lives on.

4. Wolvserpent – Gathering Strengths/Blood Seed (Crucial Blast) – Really nice and long dark ambient with bits of doom. I intitally thought I wasn’t going to be much into this going in but it quickly became more and more entrancing.

I didn’t get to any of the Death reissues (Human, Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic, etc). But I already know Human is a killer record and was a killer tour.

2009-2010 Reissues that ruled but didn't get to 'til now:
Nazareth's 70's catalogue - especially Loud 'N' Proud (1973), Razamanaz (1973), and Hair of the Dog (1975). Also played my orig. No Mean City LP quite a few times in '11.
Black Sabbath – Master of Reality (deluxe edition) (Universal) OK, OK, this actually came out in 2009 but this is one of the few things the (remaining) majors are doing right. “Weevil Woman ‘71” and the “After Forever” outtakes are worth it alone.

2011 releases too late for review butsounded promising:

Rome – Die Æsthetik Der Herrschaftsfreiheit (Trisol) – Wanted to get the original, deluxe 3 CD edition with Jerome Reuter’s 3 books. Though, 2012 holds the promise of these 3 albums released separately.

Sol Invictus - The Cruelest Month (Auerbach/ Prophecy Productions)

Current 93 – HoneySuckle Æons (Coptic Cat)

Hammers of Misfortune – 17th Street (Metal Blade)

Voi Vod – To The Death demos (Alternative Tentacles) – I already know this is great just haven’t heard it in the new remastering.

Peter Bjärgö - The Architecture of Melancholy (Cyclic Law)

Saxon – Call to Arms (Militia Guard)

Vektor - Outer Isolation (Heavy Artillery)

Dirty Beaches – Badlands (Zoo) – Super generic band name but really great, dark ballads, a bit of Suicide and lonely Americana noir.

Tokyo Blade – Thousand Men Strong (Fastball Music)

Lumerians - Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)

Wooden Shijps – West (Thrill Jockey) – Showed more depth and that they’re NOT a 1 trick pony. Excellent live at Frisco Freakout, too.

Deceased – Surreal Overdose (Patac)

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972 (Kranky)

Soriah with Ashkelon Sain - Eztica (Projekt)

Cult of Youth – Cult of Youth (Sacred Bones)

Anvil – Juggernaut of Justice (The End)

Hot Graves – Knights in White Phosphorus (Satanik)

Gates of Slumber - The Wretch (Rise Above/Metal Blade)

Slug Guts – Town Tied (Sacred Bones)

Tombs – Path of Totality (Relapse)

Burzum – Fallen (some dodgy Russians?)

Vastum – Carnal Law (Profound Lore)

Necros Christos – Doom of the Occult (Sepulchral Voice)

Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)

Junius - Reports From The Threshold Of Death (Prosthetic)

Helrunar – Sol (Lupus Lounge)

St. Anger award for craptastic levels of achievement:

Botantist - Convolvulus Althaeoides (Tumult) - By the rasp of Quorthon! – what a bunch of novelty crap. Morbid Angel -Illud Divinum Insanus (Season of Mist) – “Radikult” + even getting history wrong "since '89?" You formed the band in 1985!
Litgury - Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey) -Really this should have about as much impact on Heavy Metal as Stephen Hawking would in a steel cage vs. Necro Butcher.
James Ferraro – Far Side Virtual (Hippos in Tanks) He’s gone of the deep end with his new age obsession.
Reedallica - Lulu (Warner) – As awful the ballads on “Load & Reload” & Lou selling Honda motorcycles in the 80’s only worse?
Venom – Fallen Angels (Spinefarm) The good: Cronos vocals & bass sound. The bad: the songs sound he’s singing over 90’s Metallica. Check out “Hammerhead” and “Punk’s Not Dead” and you’ll know what I mean. It’s not 1000% horrible but no Abandon and no Mantas = no Venom. (Much less no Cronos, which they already tried & failed with).

Favorite Live Shows of 2011

2011-12-19T23:39:00.000-08:00

This year was a bit different in that I saw far more things outside the usual Heavy Metal scene which while I saw a good bit of, I also got quite burnt out on. Though, I was excited about discovering older bands. (More on that in the Best Records List, coming soon). Also, there was a big lack of hardcore/punk shows. Well, there's another thing I didn't catch up on a lot save MRR and the weekly read through of Terminal Boredom. Still, I did see both Saxon and Motörhead, along with the triumphant return from Noothgrush. So, here's a bunch of gigs in no order of preference:

1) Motörhead/Clutch at The Warfield - February 2nd - Clutch was pretty damn rockin' but more importantly Motörhead played nearly everything I wanted them to play and I made eye contact with Lemmy & was a mere 20 or so feet away from him! So, can't complain...other than their $40 shirts.

2) SWANS at The Regency - March 1st. First time I've ever seen a show here, big venue and pretty pricey ticket through the usual ticketbastard but this place worked great for Michael Gira & co. who were one of the heaviest/loudest shows I've ever seen. (Next to Iron Maiden in 1985 & Foetus Inc. in 1991). Plus, it was great to see the first band that really made me explore things outside the Heavy Metal and Hardcore/Punk.

3) Hans Keller/Spectrum at the Blank Club, April 25th. I recognized one of the Hans Keller feller on keyboards & f/x from a few other shows in SJ in recent years & from Good Karma Vegan cafe. Really neat psych band that’s been going for awhile. Spectrum (featuring Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3) did a bunch of their ol' faves: “Honey”, an fast & fuzzed out version of Spacemen 3's “Revolution”, his own purty 'lil tune: “How Does It Feel” and so on all to a sparse but very enthusiastic crowd. Every once in a blue moon San Jose "gets it" and this night was one of them.

4) Amber Asylum/Wolvserpent at Thee Parkside, May 17th Amber Asylum never disappoints with their sullen neo-classical sound. This time with just 3 members (Sarah R-B on violin/viola, Leila also from Hammers of Misfortune and Vastum on guitar/keyboard & occasion vocals and founder Kris Force on violin, vocals & samples) they sounded fantastic. Onward to Wolvserpent- this band I intially thought from the stuff I read would be just another doom/drone act. Yet the duo of Blake Green and Brittany McConnell worked in the way someone such as Swans do with "maximal minimalism" and stretched out two-three notes in a hypnotic fashion. Amber Asylum did another great set at The Elbo Room in early November (with a bunch of pretty good Black/Doom Metal bands - Fell Voices, Ash Borer & Lycus) with what looked like dueling violins for a few moments from Sarah & Kris along with some neat visuals from outer & inner space.

5) Andre Williams at The Hemlock, June 25th. Heard this announced on KFJC a bunch the week before and figured first the guy's an absolute ROCK n' ROLL/SOUL KING on par with James Brown and George Clinton and I'm gonna see 'em for a scant $12 at the friggin' Hemlock! A definite can't miss gig which turned out to be filled with many kinds of greatness - Williams & co possessed pure showmanship and a level of ribaldry on par with Russ Meyer's "Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!". Lots of tunes that were lewd but not crude and 100% energy at every turn. The backing back was the pretty swingin' and often twangy openers, Jail Weddings from L.A. I also hugely recommend the documentary, Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams from 2008 which you can view here.

6) Earth at the Catalyst on July 21. Went down to Santa Cruz with a friend on a whim for this. A beautiful foggy night down the coast that mixed very well with Dylan Carson's languid, twang. Some French-Canadian openers whose name escapes me had a great bass tone but song-wise they were pretty snoozy. Only shitty thing was the way-too loud reggae band upstairs. Ugh.

7) Dirty Ghosts/White Hills/Carlton Melton at The Rickshaw Stop, Sept. 15th. Dirty Ghosts were "kinda there" with an decent but very uneven 80's new wave/semi-garage rock sound. The vocalist was all over the place tone wise - sometimes she was Pat Benatar other times I dunno what. However, White Hills was a massive wave of thundering psych from the first note to the last. They played a number of tunes from their latest album, the excelled, Hp-1. Namely the album opener, "The Condition of Nothing" took off with a giant roar with all four members in top form. The more straight-ahead "Upon Arrival" had a loads of big riffs and a super-catchy low-end. Guitarist Dave W. looked straight outta Hawkwind (always a good thing) with a red & white shirt & silver (machine?) face paint along with a gold top Les Paul. Bassist Ego Sensation rocked out with a killer clear Dan Armstrong bass which accented her outfit of snazzy red & spangly pants & a shiny silver accented & flared shirt. White Hills really knows how to do own the stage. Carlton Melton did the quite intro into huge middle-end bit that work fantastically and melted some minds including my own. You can catch some of their set here. Also had a plenty good time with friends over beers & the 2nd (aka: the last good) Def Leppard LP before the show.

8) Saxon at The Avalon Sept 30th. A bunch of weird openers but a near packed house even during the early part of the festivities. The first was some young lads (and by that I mean 10 & under) playing classic rock/metal cover tunes. I just hear the last half of their take on AC/DC's "Long Way to the Top" which as much I can do without AC/DC and covers of 'em was quite energetic and done real well, especially considering their ages. The next band was Hatchet who were every shitty thrash

cliché in one band. "C'mon let's start a fuckin' pit" repeat 800 times, etc. Hilarity did ensure though with a very drunk and wobbly Paul Baloff clone on the floor mosh and slowly walking around the floor during their set. Next up a bunch of comically bad prog-metallers that barely played a note I liked. After about a 1/2 hour, Saxon finally got going with a load of great tunes including some new ones that well, sounded like their slower, 2-3 chord rockers. Biff Byford was looking and sounding in good form as was the rest of the band that included classic-era Nigel Glockner on drums (just like on "The Eagle has Landed") and guitarist Paul Quinn on guitar. A few other highlights was the rest of the set and encores: "Crusader", "Strong Arm of the Law", "This Town Knows Who To Rock", "Motorcycle Man", "Denim and Leather", "The Power and the Glory", All sorts made it out to this from teenagers to older dudes like mesellf and even older heshers. Yeah, so they didn't do "20,000 Feet" but look at that set list!

9) Frisco Freakout at Thee Parkside Oct. 8th. A great day in general that started with a trip to the incredible Green Apple Books where I picked up the bio of Dusty "The American Dream" Rhodes & an issue of Draw! mag followed by excellent pizza at Pizza Orgasmica.
Anyhow, the Freakout Fest started a bit rocky with the first so-so band that sounded like someone's embarrassing uncle's garage project that did a private press LP in '72 that should've been kept just that. Also, some shitty DJ just had to play the Dead for 4+ hours in between bands. (Ever heard of Hawkwind? I hear they have a few records around) and the outside DJ put everything on too fucking loud. However, things got going right after the first dud band. Highlights included the un searchable named, Joy (from San Diego) who mixed a bit of fast punky tunes with their sort of 70's psych sound, Outlaw were moody but pretty rockin' - they did a nice version of “In Heaven” from Eraserhead. Z-Trane Electric Band had some good guitar parts that were more in the way of surf and early rock n' roll than psych but it overlapped pretty well. Dahga Bloom (right before Melton) mixed up 60's psych and pop but fuzzed it out enough to fall on the latter. To top it off, Harderships (featuring Issah from Earthless + Jefferson + Camilla from Assembled Head in Sunburst Sound) did a good mix of 70's rock and psych that took a 'lil while to sink in but got on fine by the 3rd tune. Carlton Melton start in the warbly melt-down and pick things up with Andy hammer the shit out of the drums through latter part. One of the Earthless folks did guest guitar from the floor. Assembled Head kept the heavy psych going with pop melodies and harmonies all of which transitioned perfectly. Including this absolutely perfect number. This fest also gets bonus points for the former BMX racer who looked like Barış Manço who I talked with for several hours & we realized that we might've raced against each other in the early 80's in Fremont.

10) Noothgrush/Human Anomaly/Dispirit/Connoisseur at 924 Gilman St., Oct. 22nd. I missed Agents of Satan and Atriarch as I was out to dinner with the Human Anomaly folks. Connoisseur had a moshing yeti and they did a great mix of punk, hardcore, grind and power-violence. Dispirit was interesting but impossible to see amongst the absolute red & black. H.A. confused and amused the usual Gilman crowd with their neat mix of prog and 70’s jazz fusion. Their guitarist, Lance twice played sections that reminded me of Jeff Beck. Noothgrush was as punishing as they were many years prior at Gilman. While I saw Nootgrush them a few months earlier at the Elbo Room (with Winter and 4 too many Swedish Death Metal influenced hardcore bands). They were great then but I think overall this was a much better show - especially with more diverse sounds on the bill.

Honorable mention: Carla Kihlstedt at YBCA in July: I hadn't seen Kilhstedt in Sleeptime Gorilla Museum or Tin Hart Trio much less the bevvy or other performers she's collaborated with. Nor had I ever read Jorges Luis Borges but this was a night to see/hear something different, even if this might've been a bit over my head. However, the music was an interesting mix of vocal choruses, jazz, classical and a variety of other things. Afterwards, I met a German girl who in a Belphegor shirt who told me she was flying all over the country to see these performances. (She was also planning on seeing Belphegor again in Germany in a few weeks). Crazy that.

Pics below in order are:

Human Anomaly, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Saxon, Andre Williams, Earth, White Hills, Spectrum, and SWANS

METALSPLOITATION! - (Con't) - What are your Italian zombies doing in my cinema?

2011-11-29T22:56:00.000-08:00

Hmm...what's this "Music by Accept? Saxon? Scorps? Motley Crüe? Awesome! Claudio Simonetti? Never heard of 'em. Rick Springfield - ah, whatevah this looks killer!"

Demons or Demoni (its international title) uses the "movie within a movie" format. While people are being killed in the movie the people are watching and then being they are then killed by demons in the theater. A woman on screen's neck is being cut up while a woman in the theater dares to look only to have her own neck sliced up like a Thanksgiving turkey. In fact, this movie seems to take a liking to ripping necks apart and goughing eyes apart - the latter almost as much as fellow Italian horror director Lucio Fulci. Back to the music, there's an uncredited anthemic metal rager called "Night Danger" by Denmark's pretty good band, Pretty Maids.

Thus began my obsession with Italian horror and more specifically Dario Argento movies. Although, Demoni isn't considered a "true" Argento movie as it was directed by Lamberto Bava. Regardless this Heavy Metal and Horror connection sent me back to Pleasanton's then godly Aspargus Video. My mom's then boyfriend, Bob drove me over there after a trip over to The Record Factory in Dublin. While I asked him dumb questions like "what's a skeptics? I asked him this 'cause I just bought Agent Steel's - Skeptic's Apocalypse LP. I wasn't so sure what they were on about. (I later found out it was some crrrazy UFO/aliens theme). I remember the night I got this video tape from the store and several times I rewound the scene with 'Maiden (one of my fave horror movie scenes ever).

Stoned (Again?)

2011-11-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

I meant to release this way back in 2008 but it's still relevant to the "weird experience on weed thing". This took place at a party at the great but short lived Stanford party house that KZSU DJ, Big Chief once lived at.

No, it wasn't quite like this but...damn...eating 2 squares of weed cake tonight was fuggin' weird. I hadn't had any weed as in smoking it. Having an interesting, fun time at a KZSU friends b-day party. Talking with friends old and new. The delicious yellow cake filled with the cannibus and before that was the baked potato with the cannibus butter. Oh, so good but oh, so dumb after 4-5 beers. Strangely, the last time I had gotten high off of weed was around 2003 when at a friend's house San Francisco party. My friend's roommate peer pressured me into "burning the green" again -especially since I said (and truthfully) I hadn't had any since June 1986 at the Metallica/Ozzy show. That stuff was pretty powerful but I 'spose that's stating the obvious as the permutations of weed have advanced into turbo level now. I was used to the regular strong but not too strong of Reagan-era sensimilla not this harsh stuff they had in S.F. that night. Then again, I've often been a total lightweight.

My mind's didn't get too warped but things did indeed slow way down yet at the same time I was able to talk and respond well and only rarely missing my train of thought. But jeez, how did it hit me not until close to an 40 minutes-an hour after eating it? I was talking with a friend of mine near the BBQ I suddendly hit me in the back of the head like a rock. I pointed to my friend and said to her "whooaa...hold on! Holy shit, dewd, I'm fuckin' high off that weed cake!" Strangely, the cake even gave me cotton mouth to some degree. Cotton mouth was my least fave side effects from smokin' weed. (Somewhere after the stench of the stuff).

Anyway, later tonight, after a long "back to normal" stretch" I was listening to Legendary Pink Dots on the way home. A contemporary version of the trippiest of trippest parts of Pink Floyd and something slooowwwww and just wuhh...

Now excuse me I gotta prepare for dealin' with the real world tomorrow. Saaaad! No more weed be it cake or otherwise for me, thank you.

In a race track far, far away...(BMX Obsesso con't)

2011-10-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Surgical Droid 2-1B from Empire Strikes Back

reminded me a lot of Clint Miller of Team Kuwahara

Kuwahara was the top Japanese BMX company that made the bike for E.T. They along with Araya Rims (not made by the guy from Slayer) were the top 2 companies from Japan for BMX equipment. Going back to my last post's Hesh-BMX connection is this image found whilst looking for 80's BMX:

2nd from right & 2nd from left made the right t-shirt choice.

Team Cliff Burton?

2011-10-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

Snagged from BMX Plus! forum and also a reminder of a "full-circle moment" as not only was it sort of recently the anniversary of Cliff's tragic death in September 1986.

Also, two weekends ago I was at the Frisco Freakout Fest and spotted a guy in a BMX Reunion shirt. We talked about old school BMX for quite a while and we realized that we might've actually raced against each other at the Fremont ABA track (in Jan-March '83).

Anyway, here's Cliff is holding a copy he just signed of one of the greatest (and most opinionated *) 80's Metal zine, Kick Ass.

* As in editor "Nasty" Bob Muldoney hated King Diamond and Mercyful Fate along with W.A.S.P. The first he called Queen Rhinestone and the latter's singer was deemed Faggy Balless. On the other hand, he did support TONS of killer bands such as Burton-era Metallica, Bathory, Nasty Savage, Overkill. In addition, it was one of the few bigger circulation Metal zines that supported crossover bands (i.e. Broken Bones, C.O.C., etc).

Metal RAPsodies

2011-09-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

"Here we go"

Let's forget the "official-dumb" of rap-rock/rap-meddle from the late 90's-2000s. Instead, let's focus on the earliest crossovers where they didn't make crappy wrestling intros and the like. Most known is RUN-DMC's re-make/collabo with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way". At my high school throughout most of the year they'd have a lunchtime DJ. The DJs would play everything from Run-DMC, Whodini, Prince, Beastie Boys to the tired ass-AC/DC, Aerosmith & Fred Zep songs that all the conservative heshers at the stoner wall loved (that shit was 8 years too late for my friends & me as we were down with Celtic Frost & Mercyful Fate).

While my own music taste was mostly Hard Rock and Metal - I also was taking in a lot other stuff from other friends. Namely, there was Fred who was in a breakdance crew in 8th grade and schooled me on Egyptian Lover, The Time, LL Cool J, etc. In our junior year art class he was wearing this shirt that said "Throw That 'D" with a duck scratching records on turntables on it. I asked him what that was from and he said from this rap band called 2 Live Crew...I just saw them in Oakland last night". I put going to see a (then unknown) 2 Live Crew in Oakland on par with seeing Baloff era Exodus - you have no idea what kinda mayhem is gonna be unleashed.

"You might get paid-but your metal ain't real."

Before he was praising many a baby's backs and after his posse was on Broadway, Sir Mixx A Lot was down with Metal Church and did this ace version of the Sabs "Iron Man".

"They couldn't kill the beast - along came the onslaught of Scorpions and Priest."

Going back to 1984-85, I saw an ad in Hit Parader from Megaforce Records that advertised (alongside new albums from Exciter, Anthrax and TT Quick) a mysterious artist named Lone Rager called "Metal Rap". Lone Rager was Johnny Z., the head of Megaforce along with members of Blue Cheer and The Rods. Plus the "Children of Steel singers - a chorus of kids from ages 3 months to 10 yrs. old". I knew what the record looked like for years but never heard what is was. It seemed no one even in collector mega nerd circles even knew about this record or at least cared out it. Sure enough my friend Crow found a cheap copy for me at Amoeba one day and I've cherished from that day on.

Peep the crazy Heavy Metal history and geography lessons in the lyrics - totally fresh any day of the week!

What OTHER Metal or Rap song has ever repped Blue Cheer, Accept and H-Bomb!...etc, etc!?!?

Next up is Anthrax who in 1987 did not one but TWO rap tunes. The first and lesser known is their collabo with UTFO called "Lethal". Joey Belladona's voice doesn't come in until 1:46 which is proceeded by some nice riffage by Scott Ian (said riff sounds like it's a left over from Fistful of Metal or the Armed and Dangerous EP). The line from UTFO "devoted to demolish to slay anyone" easily could've been a line by the (one, true) Slaughter. Though, it is REALLY cheesy hearing a then-"true metal" frontman singing "If the girrrl wanna git it oooon....teylll the girrrrl!"

The second Anthrax-hip hop tune is "I'm The Man" which I can pretty much recite every line of. The song references everything from Sam Kinison to the Fat Boys (note the "yeaaaaah" & the 'lil beatbox bit) to the Mentor's El Duce, and even a tiny clip of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" (@ 1:55). "I'm so bad I should be detention" always cracks me up. I saw them play this tune as their final song when they opened for KISS in 1988 at the SF Civic. Scott Ian had a giant "Not" sign and they jump all over the stage. Totally rad and it sure beat going to school and scooping ice cream for shitty customers at work. My friends and I were planning on doing a lip synched version of "I'm The Man" at the lunch-time talent show (which stupidly didn't let you play live music - it had to be faked) but we couldn't get it together. My plan was to do the totally def UNcensored version.

A few years later when working the late shift at a beach side liqour store in Aptos, CA - the local college station, KZSC played the Public Enemy-Anthrax collab, "Bring the Noise". While I was burnt out on Thrash Metal I continued to get into various hip-hop bands - especially P.E. The open chords of this grabbed me and the tempo of the song gave me a much need jolt of energy and hence I heeded the words "turn it up!"

Call the "cool police" - I still love this

The first college station I heard was KSJS. Along with their usual mix of proto-EBM, punk, goth, etc. was this odd band from Wisconsin, Couch Flambeau. These guys were pretty silly but a lot of fun. More importantly their songs were pretty rockin'. This one is called "Satan's Buddies" and it has a somewhat of hip-hop feel in the beginning which is very remincent of Faith No More's "Epic". They also diss Sonic Youth for making the song "Satan is Boring" which was likely Thurston & co's diss on bands like Possessed and Slayer. Couch Flambeau made weirdo punky rock n' roll that may that didn't compromise ('ala ideally what much of early hip-hop did).

Along with Faith No More there were a few other bands that mixed rock and hip-hop such as MCM and the Monster who got lost in the shuffle between the rise of "thrash-funk"/"punk-funk" (or whatever the hell Limbomaniacs, Fungo Mungo and all that was) and Red Hot Chill Peppers.

Nerd note: MCM &The Monster once opened for Exodus. Plus, Exodus once played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dutch "party rappers" Urban Dance Squad at Oakland's Henry J. Kaiser Arena in July 91. This is sort of idea was possibly inspired by bands wanting to reach out to other audiences other weird but interesting tours such as the Sisters of Mercy/Public Enemy/Gang Four (oh, and Warrior Soul) tour of 1991.

There was also the pretty damn silly Metal MC who, is on the short list of MCs with that part of their name at the end (See: Young MC). These dudes look rather hair-farmerish, so they were more like sucker (metal) MCs.

The front cover tells you that there's a deranged metal/rap guitarist behind it's own "Tipper sticker" but really it should've just warned you from a lame record company gimmick.

In the 90's there was several pre-Shrimp Basket collabs such the ones from the ill-fated Judgement Night Soundtrack as well as Ice-T's notorious Metal band, Body Count who inspired this classic Congressional jam led by Col. George Taylor. Now, wasn't reading this better than buying a $20 "Rap Sucks" shirt?

As opposed to Bloodbad?

2011-09-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

(Insert standard: "sorry for the delay I've been busy/distracted to update 'til now").

This video is a part live show or live in front of 20+ people rehearsal thing that gives off the odor of a frankensense and myrr scented WAY-off Broadway play about the crucifixion. I mentioned these Seattle-based holy metallers, Bloodgood earlier in a post on similar minded Jezzo-rockers, Stryper. This video is the first time I've ever seen any band use a guy dressed up like Jesus on stage and recreate the scene(s) from 31 (or 32?) A.D. This is an otherwise goofier version of Jesus Christ Superstar (which is pretty goofy unto itself). Though that movie reminds of my former friend,(Danny) in Pleasanton who was a born-again Christian that loved the above mentioned bumblebees. Said past friend & I's conversation went like this:

(Danny): What? You've never seen a movie about the Bible?
(Me): (*Sheepishly*, pun intended) Nope, not yet.
(Danny): Well, you SHOULD!
(Me): Uh, ok like Jesus Christ Superstar
(Danny): Noooooo! That's blasphemous (note: in his universe this movie was "blasphemous" but listening to Blue Oyster Cult, Van Halen & being a racist dick wasn't? Weird.)
(Me): Oh, I...didn't know that (I only thought "hey it has Jesus in the title - it must be about the Bible & filled with holy stuff).
(Danny): See, you gotta watch The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Ten Commandments

A few years later via a Billy Crystal record, I found out what a insincere joke The Ten Commandments is - Moses never landed on the Planet of the Apes. Additional viewings of this scene from Mel Brooks always great History of the World Part 1 also underscored that point.
No idea about the latter movie but it sounds a little assholish for them to called it "Greatest Story EVER Told", Tintin in Tibet was a lot more interesting and it didn't confuse or scare me (save the bit about the Yeti).

had told me told me when I mentioned not seeing ever seeing a movie about The Bible before The thing that makes me uneasy about this is that I actually quite like the vocals mixing Saxon's Biff Byford & a touch of Mike Howe from Metal Church but while both have done a few missteps in their career, they never did play high school drama-power ballads like so:

So, Invisible Oranges can write a bunch of articles about what mode/key Metallica songs are in but who's ever gonna school you on late-80's Christian drama metal?

Great Goats Goring on Grass for the Government? Or how my day went

2011-05-05T00:53:00.000-07:00

Today was odd but plenty interesting. I had not only a job interview my former hometown of Pleasanton. This is the town that inspired for my old and soon to be sequeled zine, Stoner Wall. Though, today's trip was very Eric B. & Rakim - Strictly Business.
I had a job interview in Hacienda Business Park, an area I knew all too well. My family and I first knew it as the cow fields that were the background to the Denny's- which along with the 7-11 both on Hopyard Rd. still exists! Said Sevvy was the on that many a weed deal was made and also the place where I first heard Destruction's "Bestial Invasion". Since I got over there early, I went around the block to a section which I didn't recognize. Although other places while refurbished/painted and (over)developed were quickly becoming familiar. I can still take a quick look around the crux of Hopyard and it's environs and say "that's where I got high with Reid, that's the business park where I got drunk with Darren, and that's the concrete where Chad & I spray painted Slayer". The Lucky's store on Hopyard/West Los Positas also remains. This was where my Ozzy/W.A.S.P./Slayer worshipping friend, Steve worked at for over a decade.

Anyway, I went around block to kackin' Starbucks (yeah, YOU try to finding something decent in strip-mall overkill at 9am) all in my business clothes as I waited for my tea while some goofy Hot Topic looking Batista kids took orders from a cluster of people including one woman who I wondered if I had went to school with.

On top of this stale environment we were blasted with the latest Joss Stone/Sheryl Crow/whoever thee fuck makes the rest of this of the wave nauseating MOR tunes that fit perfectly with the "blandness eternal" motto of Starbucks (and CVS, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods for that matter). Mercifully there was a seat outside and there was only one way I could resolve this problem of "horrible music in a familiar but even worse visual environment than I came from". A simple click the iPod and viola:

"Screams-dreams!" (Lalonde's guitar says: *Bhew-whip!*)

(*going over my resume *) "OK, let's tell her that I worked over here, did these responsibilities that fit in with this part. Then I'll tell her this transitions well with that requirement and..."

(*MEGA PUNISHING RIFF*)
"Demons dog domain
Keeping me insane
Evil curse my soul
Burning awaaaaaay-ahhhrrr!
...The Exorciiiiisttt!
(*TONS OF DRONING PROTO-BLACK HORNETS NEST GUITARS*)

Even feeling overly hot (near 90 today in now overcrowded oven known as the Tri-Valley- don't miss that!) and in a not-too comfy tie, dress shirt sitting at an outside table at again the green and white corporate beast - the riffs kicked in, my fist was clenched and as Amebix would say - the power remains! The power from many moons ago - that came from blasting this same album on Steve's Panasonic jam box down the streets of Val Vista that well, possessed us to bark out emulations of Jeff Beccara the rest of the Pinoleian Death Metal kings. But yeah, I'm all business maaaan!

Oh, gotta go to the interview...
The interview went well - but was weird know that the interview went over every possible detail for my job. Odd considering it's a scant 2 month gig. Since I also had an appointment with the agency that set me up with this company - I had to jam up to their office ever further up to Walnut Creek. Thankfully, Candlemass' "Tales of Creation" and leftover, surprisingly well-done chai tea kept me company.

Walnut Creek or at least their downtown looks like Palo Alto's downtown on steroids. A clusterfuck of a mall, mixed with tightly packed office spaces, horribly configured parking lots, chocked with traffic on all sides. Along with a bunch of other chainstores/upscale restaurants/bistros with "artistian" fucking everything.
Speaking of chains at least local interesting ones from the past - I spotted a Kapser's Hot Dogs around the corner from the office. I didn't bother eating there but 15 year old me would've been there in a flash. 21st century me - didn't think that there would be franknveggiefurters. At the office, I did some generic paper work but the two women I worked with there were really accommodating and down to earth - not drones like so many others.

Part of me wanted to stop and do more research/archeology for Stoner Wall but I was a little pressed for time and not knowing the area these days, feared the worse for any traffic going south after 3pm. So, I bolted back home took care of a few other job things and ate a bunch of cheese.

After finishing stuff in one of my online classes (this one was Intro to Tech Writing), I went out for a bike ride at somewhat prog rock length of around 4 miles at Shoreline Park. I found a new detour to the left side of the wooden bridge. This detour looked from the distance a narrow path that twisted and turned towards NASA and the Air National Guard facilities on one side and a looked like it had a possible path going all the way out to the other side of the bay to Milpitas. Unfortunately, the only the first part is true. The route to Milpitas is cut off by fences but on second thought it makes sense as it's the continuation of the wildlife preserve. The bird population isn't just the usual ducks and seagulls (though they can amuse and interest me as well) but also egrets, non-mallard ducks, terns, red-winged blackbirds, pelicans - who thankfully are the non-boring riff kind.

I kept wondering "how long does this path go on?!" while some knob-end from Google blazed by me - missing hitting me by a mere 5 inches. Regardless, I rode on looking at some military plane and plane & blimp hangars as well as an RV lot?

Yep. Top secret, too I'd guess. As said before, I didn't find a path across the bay but shortly after seeing a jack rabbit pass from about 40 ft. away - I spotted something baffling. Goats! Gorging on grass and on government territory near a golf course (where some annoying looking yupster-military mix dudes were playing a few holes. Remember: only miniature golf is REAL!). It looks like NASA or the Air National Guard at Moffett Field had hired them to clear some brush along side the golf course. I'd thought that maybe there was a team of them at one point and the others got laid off due to budget cuts. I dunno - but I do wish I had heard Mercyful Fate once I spotted them. I think it was Burning Saviours "Spread Your Wings" that came on instead - which would of been fine when I was photographing birds! Smartphone, my ass!

Whoa-holllld the bus!...Is that what I think it is?

Goats on government property, even!? Crazy that.

The one on the left just caught on to what I'm up to and will be filing a report with the CIA.

On the way back a live version of Mercyful Fate's "Evil" kept me pedaling around but not until I saw another egret and got a pic of him.

Also on the Mercyful Fate tip, was spotting a ruined bridge (as in the place you're supposed to wait for the master. Well, that yeah that happens "later on" but "Come to the Sabbath", already!)

Back on the bike and Swans' "Will We Survive" came on in a near triumphant moment of going away from this new founded twisty path and back onto the familiar 2nd bridge area overlooking the reed filled banks of Stevens Creek. Then it was back to "on your left" and "on your right" to the random bikers, walkers & joggers on the path home.

Never mind the Royals - Here's Filthy, Rich and Catflap

2011-04-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, those 2 money draining, mass distracting, "what education/economic crisis?" idiots are getting married tomorrow. But fuck all that - here's something REALLY important and worth your time from the UK - Filthy, Rich and Catflap. This fine show is from 1986 and features 3 of the 4 stars from the legendary (NOT a term I throw around easily) BBC show "The Young Ones" - Nigel Planner is the stumbling alcoholic showbiz agent "Ralph Filthy", Rik Mayall's the completely mental and egotistical "Ritchie Rich" along with his roommate and often drunk minder - Adrian Edmonson as "Eddie Catflap".

Instead of the rigors of student life, vampire landlords and Motörhead cameos we have the tales of consistent failure in attempting to break into the entertainment industry. The show maintains some of the same elements that made the "The Young Ones" so classic. Namely, jokes that range from the silly to observations on fame and the media to funny word play. The latter is used mostly by Richie who say "I'm not gonna go to pris(on)", "the crits (critics) will slaughter me!" Similar to The Simpsons it has gags going on in the background. One of which appears in episode five where Richie and Catflap go out to clubs & eateries named "Stringos", "Hippos", and "Lampos" before a final 3am gorging on Papadum-os.

A lot of the commentaries and jokes are based around British b-level celebrities from the past such as the oft-referenced Jimmy Tarby" Tarbuck who was comparable to maybe Merv Griffin. Also mentioned/referenced are game shows such as "Blankety Blank" and "Celebrity Squares" which were UK parallel shows (not directly related, mind) to America's "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares".

One of my favorites is in the game show parodies is Richie's guest appearance on the hilariously titled show "Ooer Sounds A Bit Rude". Unlike the Young Ones' direct parody of a real show "University Challenge" (from the same titled episode) this twists the game show from a happy, joyful setting to a place focused on shouting directors going off on camera ops (a thing I know a bit about having worked on a TV news programme) along with the general fakeness of the talent which quickly gives way to utter chaos. Another treat is the visuals on the show - the loud 1970s colors in the "Ooer" scene is only a mild exaggeration of the things worn by Charles Nelson Reily on Match Game or Charo on Hollywood Squares.

Another part of "F, R and C"'s charm is the random bits of slang and language. In one scene Richie is shocked and exclaims "Wot in the name of Satan's Porsche?!" Satan's Porsche woud''ve made a great Butthole Surfers song. A few more of my favorite lines involves a scene with a series of milkman murders. "This is the most milkman shaped stork I've ever seen." Other parts that should give you a few larfs is the lawyer named "Pervy Spurty", and what to do with dead milkman, and why one "little drinky" won't help you sleep.

Along with the entertainment industry, the art world also gets a great send up in the 2nd episode which features the fantastic comedy duo of Steven Fry and Hugh Laurie as Catflap's French patrons. This parody deals brillantly with the whole "what is art?" question and seemingly predicts the forthcoming nonsense of Damien Hirst and Neckface.

It would be interesting if the show were on now as it could easily play off the contemporary TV show formats of "reality", unfunny "ironic/post-modern" sitcoms and the entertainment shows that report on other entertainment shows so uh, people can be "entertained" or the talk shows that invite other talk show hosts that go into the never-ending cultural-socio abyss. Now I need to watch a bunch of "Bottom" - the next main venture from Mayall and Edmonson from (1991-95).

Refs:
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/537898/

http://www.noisetosignal.org/2008/08/filthy-rich-and-catflap

Fun with YouTube

2011-04-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

As you know YouTube can give you weird random selections/suggestions when you're searching for oh, say French Death Metal from 1996:

Or let's say you were looking for other Death Metal related stuff such as this early, overlooked Swedish stuff band, Exempt. It tells you to check out Three 6 Mafia. OK, maybe 'cause they're name is really 666 but musically totally, different head totally. That said, I wonder if Gangsta Boo is down with slithery, downtuned Morbid Angel meets early Unleashed style DM with a hankering for hammer-ons/pull-offs?

Another unintended random barrel o' laughs was this top suggestion I got whilst going through the band who's name can't-be-pronounced-unless-done-with-a-raspy-kackle, Baxaxaxa.

Lastly, I wanted to note that I had a great experience with the previously mentioned band Asgard. I played them a few times on my old show on KZSU, "Bloodstains Across Atherton" and about a year later my friend who was then the Metal Director got an e-mail from Xavier's Asgard's bassist, which was really cool. Makes up for all the times that I thought no one was listening or gave a shit.

Early viking imagery and lyrics in Heavy Metal

2011-04-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

Early Viking imagery on LP covers comes up with the 1984 comp, Dutch Steel (which either consciously or unconsciously touches on the Viking and other Germanic tribal history in The Netherlands and other low lands in this is also touched on in the Frisian-born rune magick writer, Freya Asywnn's book. (1)

Even earlier than Dutch Steel on the viking style was the compilation Metal Maniaxe (Ebony Records, 1982). Ebony was the home to bands such as Ebony label home of NWOBHM bands such as Grim Reaper, Savage, and Chateaux.

I think he's only sporting the pentagram because it's Ebony's logo.

Additionally, Iron Maiden twice invoked the viking theme with their 1981 and 1982 songs "Invasion" and "Invaders". The original "Invasion" was sung by Paul Di'Anno and was released several times. First on their vinyl debut, 1979's The Soundhouse Tapes, followed by the Harvest Records release as the B-side to "Women in Uniform" (a cover of the Aussie 70's rockers, Skyhooks). Lastly. it appeared again on the 1990 CD version of the "Women in Uniform" EP Here's a few of Invasion's lyrics:

The Vikings are coming,

You'd better get ready for we're having a fight

The longboats are coming,

Looking like dragons in the dead of the night

Muster the men from all the villages

You'd better get ready to fight with your enemies

Beacons are burning,

I'm giving the word to get ready to fight

The battle is nearing,

You'd better get ready to fight for your lives

Muster the men from all the villages

You'd better get ready to fight with your enemies

The Norsemen are coming, The Norsemen are coming

The warnings are given, The Norsemen are coming...

Apparently the band wasn't satisfied with this version and once Bruce Dickinson took over vocals they changed the lyrics and the structure to become the still viking focused and equally awesome, "Invaders".

Flashing back to 1978, in Sweden, Heavy Load was a band with a strong Judas Priest-influence. Although fairly unknown outside of Sweden their early 80's LPs managed get into the UK, Germany, Norway and parts of the USA. (Anyone remember the "imports section"?, I do!).However, their influence has been pretty minimal outside of hardcore collectors and tribute acts like Helvetets Port who even show a copy of their classic Death Or Glory LP in their "Lightning Rod Avenger" video. (2) Commercially speaking it may not been to their benefit to be outside of the era's the usual Deep Purple/Rainbow-styled "hårdrockare" norm of Silver Mountain, Universe and Yngwie Malmsteen. (3) Over a decade before anyone said they played "Viking Metal", HL's Wahlquist Brothers sung lyrics such as:

"Thor is riding the sky again

Hear the thunder feel the pain

When we hear the heathen cry

We draw our swords

And the Christians will die,

Feel the pain, feel the pain" (4)

Heavy Load also had several albums covers that took in viking or at least the romanticized version of vikings (horned helmets, et.al.) shown here (5) as well as below.

A magazine interview (6) quote from the band says "What we're about as a band (is) reviving the viking spirit that's so much part of our tradition."

Although other covers went for more of the party rock n' roll tradition.

The halmark for the later, Viking/Pagan sound came predominately from a trilogy of albums by Bathory (which of course you should be familar with!) 1988's Blood Fire Death, 1989's Hammerheart and 1989's and 1991's Twilight of the Gods (all titles from Black Mark).

Norway did take to the Viking theme in Metal until the formation of Enslaved who's early sound was strongly influenced by Bathory along with the closer to home bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone. As great as they've been there's been plenty said about these bands. Nowadays, the theme has lost much of its appeal as its ranged from boring folk LORPing-beer hoisting silliness (7) to all-out ignorant shit i.e. - NSBM-tards using viking/Germanic imagery.

ENDNOTES:

1 - Freya Aswynn's has collaborated with Current 93 and Sixth Comm. She is also known for her writings and magick work with runes. "In some sense, one could say she has been to the Runes what Timothy Leary was to LSD." from discussion with Christina Oakley Harrington at Treadwells London
2 - That said, HL's sales in Sweden were often quite strong: "...their first release out selling AC/DC and Black Sabbath for nine weeks in 1981" (Kerrang!, Issue 37)
3 - From "Son Of The Northern Light" the last song on their good but weirdly sung/produced debut Full Speed at High Level (Heavy Sound, 1978)
4 - Both Silver Mountain and Yngwie wrote songs titled "Vikings" (Shakin' Brains, Roadrunner, 1983) and "I Am a Viking" (Marching Out, Polygram, 1985). Jens Johansson later played with Yngwie's Rising Force. His stint in the band was mostly known for doing a highly unnecessary variation of "Dueling Banjos"-gone-metalic-rococo with Herr Malmsteen. On a similar note there's a song by the NWOBHM act Blitzkrieg (featuring the mighty vocals of Brian Ross) called "Vikings".
5 - I'm aware that the artist for Heavy Load's LPs also seemed to predict ultra-bright blonde look of a certain former Ichiban but that's probably coincidence. Me thinks he was more influenced by a continuation of Dust's Hard Attack sleeve by the legendary Frank Frazetta.
6 - I'm not sure of the mag or which band member but it's over on this FB page
7 - So says me who used to go ape for Finntroll and Korprikilanni.

Grim Spudboys aka: how to make medicore Black Metal a zillion times more interesting

2011-03-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

Open a new tab for each and listen to this.

http://www.youtubeloop.com/v/ubB9GK_tldU#s=0&e=4
+

http://www.youtubeloop.com/v/2l7tOpnMIII#s=0&e=10

Or try it this way and mix it yourself.
http://www.twoyoutubevideosandamotherfuckingcrossfader.com/#ECvnlslYJDw/JXXe2aVa1Ek

Where are all the songs about BMX?

2011-03-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

Early Death Metal style Cruiser Class

Circa: '82

Skateboarding has it's share of songs starting from the mid-60's extension from surf songs. Then into the 80's the deluge of "skate punk" "skate hardcore" bands (The Faction, The Boneless Ones, JFA, Suicidal Tendencies) and the skate-connections with Anthrax, Metallica and Overkill. Not to forget Pushead and his designs for Zorlac boards. I like skateboarding but more for the aesthetics not for the actual activity. I found that you couldn't go in as many places. Hence no dirt riding = no fun. Also, I wasn't keen on getting tripped up by pinner sized rocks on my Gemco-bought boards.

Enter BMX, which I was totally obsessed with from 1979-84 and have re-obsessed myself in recent years from utter hatred of X-Games/freestyle crapola the latter of which I hated in the latter half of 1983 when Hutch was making pink frames (what is this, the Vinnie Vincent Invasion?) and within the next year flourscent neon blasted their ways through their own visual hell of neo-freestyle, surfing, and a few years later the jock-ulars (jocks+populars) at my high school where sporting key-lime colored shorts with bright orange "Life's A Beach" tees.

Moreso, BMX it was becoming like skateboaring with more street than dirt and really I was about both. When the X-Games stuff gave way to a glut of even worse corporate sponorship than we had in the 1980's era (I'm not saying BMX wasn't totally mainstream, it would be apt to say, compare it to the growth of Thrash Metal as it often got mainstreamed/family oriented in a few years time but this is different than the completely whored out Mountain Doofuses that represented the sport in the mid-late 90s. In short, the early era racers mostly endorsed things that had to do with their sport. This Scholastic Deth song sums it up better in "Extreme = Mainsteam" but...now I can't find the lyrics. (Not like you can't schnoogle "Scholastic Death + blogspot") tho' this pic says a lot about it:

Yuppie-jocks win again!

Aka: the fall of Bob Haro.

Anyway, how come with all the millions of kids out there that have at one point or another been into BMX are there so few songs about it? Here's a few I've found here

SundayBMX21 "bring me the horizon, four year strong, the devil wears prada all good bands that are fast"

Yikes! On Vital BMX's Forum I found this guy who's at least in the general vicinity of good-to-great:

procesion by New Order

sonic reducer by dead boys

pillbox by the joneses

romeos distress by christian death

rest in piss by brotha lynch

old school shit by eazy-e

I found a clip from Matt "Freestyle Mainstream dude I barely paid attention to" Hoffman's* video game features the great: Bad Brains, Newclus, Pailhead, the not too bad - Stone Roses and the truly awful Static X. About a year ago I got a cheapo pop punk compilation (Know Your Neighbours #1) that I HOPE would be saved by a song called "BMX" by The Bigoz Quartet, instead I got super generic whiny pop punk crap that references the movie "Rad" which should've been called "Sad".

The so-so pop-punkers Bouncing Souls released a tune simply called "The BMX Song" which is pretty fun and references even Timmy Judge (not my fave but they get points for diggin' deep).

If i had money i'd buy a new BMX

it's a long walk through the city in the

rain it's along walk from train to train.

We'll build a ramp and do some tricks and

try to impress some chicks then we'll put

on some really dark shades and run over

all the dorks with rollerblades...

crossups, tabletops, endos curb endos,

timmy judge! get rad!

if i had money i'd buy a new BMX

On the better side o' things, customized van-rockers, Fu Manchu have 2 BMX connections - the song “Anodizer” which mentions number plates, tuff mags, (GT) Pro Perform(a) bikes. Tho’ I have no idea what 4130, throwin’ tabs and KT scars are. Plus, their tune called “Mongoose” which seems to be about the OG BMX scoots: “A back road in a dirt town lives…all time/Out on the street they ride…the mongoose flies on by”. Though the best BMX-music connection I've found so far minus Fu Manchu is on a Morbid Angel fansite outta France

I like to ride my BMX bike and do some silly things with that. Whatever. I definitely like to play and have fun. I think that's great.

Keep in mind this is called "silly" AFTER Trey discussed his admiration for Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins AND that he has a Doom II clan called "Sailor Scouts".

* ENDNOTES: Hoffman was, in his early racing days on Skyway's team which at that point I wasn't following too closely then. I mostly checked out the first wave of freestyle when R.L. Osbourne of BMX Action and Eddie Fiola (also of Skyway) Skyway as you may know was the company that made the first plastic-ish mags out of some material called Zytel aka: Tuff Wheels (Mark) I/Tuff IIs and their respective knock-offs from ACS, et. al. Also 1985 most thing BMX for me (going back to the Hutch reference above) were quite pukey lookin'

The total highlight of '85 was the colors that popped up. CW made an exclusive deal with Skyway to make lavender Tuffs, which were soon followed by light green, orange, pink, etc... This was definitely a bright year!

Ugh, fuck that noise! What's wrong with the colors you already have? Red, black and white work fine for most Metal covers.

3 headed beast covers from the same mother?

2011-01-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Anyone know what Trillion sounds like? I used to see that record all the time. There's a copy of it at Vinyl Solution in San Mateo that's been there since at least 1998. I at least know the Rankelson is horrid UK glam.

Back in 2 shakes of a goat's tail

2011-01-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

My proper (i.e. much faster/stronger) computer is in the shop. So I'm writing this on my old turtle speed Mac. I should be able to post much more of the backlogged drafts and much else in the upcoming months once I get this issue and a few other "everyday life" issues sorted. I'm aimed for the end of next week. In the meantime, please check out any of the older posts you might've missed. Also, don't forget about my other blogs, Chainbreaker - on politics and music, as well as my latest venture for you to (head) lock your brain around - Squared Circle Pit.

Year in Metal/Best of 2010 List

2010-12-31T23:43:00.000-08:00

1. This year for me was odd musically, first one of the great singers in not just Metal but Music ITSELF died this year. Of course, I mean Dio. It's still really hard to believe he's gone. I felt really down reading about King Diamond's heart surgery, too but I hope he'll continue to rock the bone mic longer.

I saw a decent amount of shows and liked much of what I saw. Legendary bands like St. Vitus, Deviated Instinct, C.O.C., D.R.I., and Raven come to mind. Plus, a few others I hadn't got around to: The Gates of Slumber,Goatsnake, and Thou. As far as records go that went a bit strange, too. The crux of what I bought was a mix of old and new (much of that is represented here). Also, I ended my time at KZSU, for a variety of reasons. Next to no labels were sending the station heavy music worth its weight. Additionally, little that I wanted to do with my radio show came to fruition. The bulk of heavy music to the station was trade bait or worthless crap. (One song CD singles, still!). Reasons for "what about this or that?" is reflected with other issues of time/money/(computer) space issues. There is a middle between "die hard edition/vinyl/tape" super limited-ness of the ultra underground and the all digital bullshit, all the time.

That said, I'm missing several things I wanted to hear from beginning to end such as: Autopsy, Cough, Electric Wizard, Cauchemar, Weapon, Slough Feg, Hail of Bullets, Master, Sodom, Bastard Priest (and a TON more new wave of old school Death Metal), W.A.S.P., Ghost (Sweden), and Züül. Plus a ton of the newer punk/HC/psych/neo-folk/ambient/whatever bands.

T t Heavy music in 2010 showed no shortage of amazing new bands. A few of these I discovered from the fantastic Doomed Forever forum such as Uzala, Resonaut, Hot Graves, Winds of Genocide ( the last 2 whose demos I STILL need to get!). Also, it was nice to see a resurgance of zines (which seemed to have carried over from 2009) such as Snakepit , Radio: Totally Crucial Rock N' Roll , and Bestial Avenger. Hell, even Maximum Rock N' Roll's still in biz and writing about a gazillion punk/garage/HC bands that you may or may never get a chance to hear. Additionally, there were some great books that came out such as Tom G. Warrior's Only Death is Real, Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook (OK, maybe this was late '09) and a very well researched book on Progressive Metal, all of these 3 can be found at Bazillion Points.

Onward with the list... (excuse the shitty formatting, blogger's being a dick).
I
A ALBUMS:

AGALLOCH - Marrow of the Spirit (Profound Lore)- It's been worth the wait (and yes, the hype) for this as was their show last Wednesday at Great American Music Hall.
ATHEIST – Jupiter (Season of Mist) – Modern tech-thrash done amazingly well (despite their roots, I don’t hear a lotta DM in this, but no biggie).
BURZUM - Belus (Byelobog) – I love the fact that this not only channels various parts of classic 2nd wave BM but also the Master’s Hammer worship of “Sverddans”
CHILDREN OF TECHNOLOGY - It’s Time to Face the Doomsday (Hell’s Headbangers) - Insanely RIPPIN’ Italian band conjuring GBH, Onslaught, early VoiVod and of course Motörhead. Sure beats hearing another "post metal" or Incantation worship snore fest.
CHRISTIAN MISTRESS - Agony and Opium (20 Buck Spin)
HIGH ON FIRE - Snakes for the Divine (E1) – Been hearing Pike lay down riffs since ’91 – and he keeps impressing me nearly at every turn.
IRON MAIDEN – The Final Frontier (E1) – The first 21st century ‘Maiden that’s really grabbed me. Regardless, this really works given a good number of listens.
KERASPHORUS - Cloven Hooves at the Holocaust Dawn (Nuclear War Now!) – Crushing, fast, technical without being wanky and yet continually interesting.
LUDICRA – The Tenant (Profound Lore) – Probably their most challenging but pays off very well.
AMEBIX – Redux (Profane Existence) – Re-recordings by most heavy bands fucking suck but this (and Sodom’s - In the Sign of Evil) does not what so ever! not what so ever. Amebix mix in more keys but the energy, fury and heaviness is all here.
MOTÖRHEAD - The World Is Yours (UDR/Motörhead Music) – Because sounds like fucking Motörhead ! 30+ years and they STILL rule!
TOXIC HOLOCAUST/INEPSY - split LP (Tank Crimes)
BRETWALDAS OF HEATHEN DOOM - Seven Bloodied Ramparts (King Penda)
TRIPTYKON - Esparistera Daimones (Century Media) – A lack of “heeey” and “ouh!”/”ouuuugh!” but still very heavy and continually interesting.
DARKTHRONE– Circle the Wagons (Peaceville) – it’s still Darkthrone, can’t complain.
COFFINWORM – When All Becomes None (Profound Lore) Doomy, heavy as fuck and filthy.

NOT HEAVY BUT STILL GREAT:
Gilbert Delfez – Je Suis Vivant, Mais J’Ai peur de Gilbert Delfez (B-Music/Finders Keepers)
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Hawk (Vanguard) - Excellent Americana duets that invoke the late, great Lee Hazelwood.
Beach House – Zebra – EP (Sub Pop) – didn’t get around to hearing all of Teen Dream but this is very nice and proves that current "indie rock" doesn't have all sound like 70's elevator music.
Rome - Nos Chants Perdus (Trisol)
Sabbath Assembly - Restored to One (Ajna)
Hedja – Apnoea (Bridgetown) – beautiful ambient stuff

HONORABLE MENTION:

Overkill – Ironbound – would’ve been on here if it weren’t for the super-shitty, modern production with clicky-cliky triggered drums and super-slick mix.
Christopher Lee's Charlemagne - By the Sword and the Cross – Dunno if this is actually as bad (or "so bad, it's good") as his appearance in the teen sex comedy Jocks in 1986 but still nice to see he’s getting work.

DEMOS:

Paranoid Freakout (Oakland)
Resonaut (Trondheim, Norway)
Age of Taurus (UK)
Bird (San Jose)
Uzala (Boise, ID)
Vastum (SF/Oakland, CA)
Xibalba (Mexico)

OLD STUFF/REISSUES:

G.I.S.M. – Detestation and 1982-84 – bitch as bootlegz both.
Labradford – Mi media naranja (1997)
Hellbastard – demos LP
V/A: U.S. Metal Vol. II – (Shrapnel) Wild Dogs, The Rods, Exciter (!!!), the true Vixen’s “Angel’s From the Dust”. Even some early guitar wank from Michael “Angelo” Batio. Yes, the one later in Nitro!
White Boy and the Average Rat Band – White Boy and the Average Rat Band (Roach)
Heavy Load – every fucking thing they did.
Stitch – Devil’s Deal 7” - Thank you, Cosmic Hearse!

LIVE:

* Saint Vitus 2x! – January 29th & June 27th both @ DNA
* Shrinebuilder/Steve Von Till/Brainoil @ Voodoo Lounge, SJ, March 5th
* Bird/Basement Animal/Vaccuum @ The Caravan, SJ, November 6th
* Triptykon @ Slim’s – October 23rd
* C.O.C./Goatsnake/Black Breath @ DNA, August 10th
* D.R.I. @ Slim’s - January 9th
* Ludicra/Slough Feg (opening for Pentagram who unfortunately were very "off" that night.@ DNA, March 23rd
* Vitamin X/Toxic Holocaust/Deadfall/Face the Rail/Population Reduction/Muni Waste @ Tankcrimes Brainsqueeze Day 2, Oakland Metro
* Raven/Vastum/Stone Vengeance/Amber Asylum @ Tidal Wave Fest, July 24-25
* Thou @ Thee Parkside, June 18th
* Monarch! – 924 Gilman Nov. 5th
* Grand Invincible @ Mardi Gras, Redwood City, Nov.
* Deviated Instinct @ Gilman St., Sept 11th
* Crow/Conquest for Death/Cross Stitched Eyes/Acephalix @ 924 Gilman St.
* Frisco Freakout 2010 @ Thee Parkside October 16th: Assembled Head in Sunburst Sound, Carlton Melton, Strangers Family Band, White Manna, Jeffertitti's Nile. Carlton Melton on KZSU December 15th
* Venomous Concept @ Thee Parkside, September 17th
* Katatonia @ Thee Parkside, August
* The Gates of Slumber/Struck by Lightning/Black Tusk/Weedeater (the latter kinda sucked but the crowd went ape for 'em. @ Elbo Room, March 27th
* Amber Asylum/Soriah/Lux Eterna/The Ghost Project with Belly Dancers @ Ghost Town Gallery, Oakland, January.

RELATED STUFF:

* Iconoclast: Boyd Rice (documentary) at Roxie Theater - the night S.F. went drunken batshit for the Giants
* Standing In Two Circles: The Collected Works of Boyd Rice book
* Swedish Death Metal book by Daniel Ekeroth
* Gimme Something Better: Bay Area Punk book
* Nagawika's cartoons

N.W.O.B.H.M. radio special on Monday 27th Dec.

2010-12-24T18:38:00.000-08:00

History of Metal V: N.W.O.B.H.M. (and related) special on KZSU.

Myself and Mr. Esq. will be on KZSU, 90.1 FM and http://kzsu.stanford.edu/ on Monday the 27th from Midnight-3am (8am GMT/9am CET)

We will be playing LOTS of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal i.e.: 'Maiden, Saxon, Raven, Venom, et. al. and like minded gods of the mighty riff from Belgium, Germany, Japan, Sweden, USA, etc. from the very groundbreaking years of 1978-84. Plus a good chunk of this will be played from first run vinyls.

At LEAST change the logo!

2010-12-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

My friend The Pittsburg Pirates pointed out the above's very lame and highly UN-diabloical logo while we were on our way to lunch in Berkeley's very yuppish (but still good) Tacubaya in Berkeley's very snooty 4th Street district. This shoe store is apparently attempting to conjure a diabolic aesthetic yet their arched M is comes off more like an early Warner Brother's monster wearing a tux. Nothing evil or hellish there. They might wanna throw some inspiration from the Swedish Black/Death Metal underground like this logo of this sorta influential band of the same name.

For fuck's sake, they even did a variation on both Elphas Levi's classic satan image AND the Celtic Frostian heptagram. Waaay better than some $130 & up shoe place. Hell, the shoe store doesn't even conjure up the images of the movie Mefisto which OK, was pretty controversial subject matter (and the English dubbed version is really boring) but no matter - they should just change the name of the place to "Overpriced Shoes with a Shitty Logo".

P.S. - Yes, I just noticed they're spelled differently but once again the shoe store is totally UN-wicked and not somewhere I'll ever shop nor should you!

Rockers on PSAs

2010-12-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Man, Rick Nielsen's promoting Cheap Trick's really awful single "Tonight It's You", Jools Holland is such a dweeb! But look at that shirt Robyn Hitchcock's wearing-I think he & Klaus of the Scorps shop at the same place. And did that Kool & The Gang album have a hit? Seems like by 1985 they were far away from "Celebration".

Meanwhile in another part of 1985, Wendy O. Williams, the Kommander of Kaos tells us about the importance of V.D. prevention.

Ratt's Robyn is too ripped to read

Alcatrazz, the band featuring that Miami Vice lookin' Graham Bonnett also did a PSA on the b-side of their "Will You Be Home Tonight" 12". There's no video or clip of it that I can find but trust me, I've heard it and it's downright weird but not too unlike the rest of the "Rockers Against Drugs" ads that were all over MTV around 1987-88. Alcatrazz were a bunch of session players like Steve Vai and Jimmy Waldo but regardless of status - the song pretty much blows donkey.

Granted, not all of these ads sucked. This is the best one with Dio, who's totally believable. He was just a "few beers here & there" guy and not a fuck up like Nikki Sixx.

Before Tim's Time

2010-10-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

I just zipped through reading the excellent Cardboard Gods book. This is a must read even if you're not that into baseball. Josh Wilker's blend of stream-of-consciousness personal history and the backstory behind 1970's and 80's baseball cards (whether real or imagined) is amazing. Wilker's musings on the funny, awkward and just plain weird images from these cards inspired this post.

When I first saw photos of Tim "The Freak" Lincecum, I first thought of his predecessers - Jackie Earl Haley from Bad News Bears (in the 1976 original version not the dodgy Billy Bob Thornton re-make) and 1975 Topps-era Ted Simmons.

Jackie Earl Haley's character Kelly is the team "bad ass", all motorcycle ridin', smokin' and authority defying. He continued on the same path in the cheesy but still good Breaking Training in '77. In recent years Jackie Earl Haley's played Freddy Kruger and the burn out baskeballer, Dukes in the Will Farrel's excellent ABA tribute Semi-Pro.

What can we gather from Ted Simmons? He wasn't into smoking the green and it's probably just the sun hitting his eyes on this non-descript angular stadium which may or may not be the Cardinals Busch Stadium. Even if it is just the sun, his heavy worn-yet game ready eyes, the guy-in-the-front-row at Grand Funk hair & sideburns just make you wanna ask him "hey dude, wasn't catching Bob Gibson's fastball like, hella intense?"

The similarities continue...

Metalsploitation - The Return......

2010-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Don't ask why but I was trying to remember what the Carmine Appice ("Appa-see") led fluff rock band, King Kobra sounded like. Among the thing I stumbed upon in my results was this primo Metalsploitation clip from McAllen, Texas circa 1986. I completely forgot that W.A.S.P. toured with Duh Nuge much less King Kobra. Though the latter situation makes sense as King Kobra's Johnny Rod played bass on W.A.S.P.'s not that good "Inside the Electric Circus" album. Here's more rock n' shock from the age of the P.M.R.C. 5 Alive has this report...

A day before the show, McAllen went wild for King Kobra. Check @ 1:56 when one of the band members doesn't recognize the guitar in one of their own songs.

These guys also have an amazingly awful video with Louis Gossett Jr. for the movie Iron Eagle that just screams "make me a meme!"

Watch This Space

2010-10-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

(Proper Flyer with Neat-o Images to be posted soon).

STONER WALL II: MININUM WAGE OF MAYHEM
Coming January 2011

Another zine covering Heavy Metal Sub/Urban Hell (and Heaven) featuring: Interviews with people from the Bay Area Metal/Hardcore scene, Metalsploitation – in the movies and the media, The mayhemic world of Nasty Savage, The continuing saga of Danny: “the good little Christian boy”, Broken Entity: the band that should not be, I was a teenage prog nerd, odes to 1980s cable TV/VHS culture, Judge Dredd, Satan & the occult, penbangers/penpals, Temporary Valhalla Zones aka: the greatest 80’s record stores, pro wrestling, totally rockin’ radio, record & show reviews from 1984-90, proper BMX aesthetics , junk food, and even more 7-11s,. Plus: guitar lesson horrors, taking a “mini-vacation from Metal”, and of course the “all-important” stories about: fights, getting wasted and cutting school!

More crud up here: http://hordesofhesh.blogspot.com

“You're nobody's slave, nobody's chains are holdin' you

You hold your fist up high,

And rule the zoo”

– W.A.S.P. – “I Wanna Be Somebody”

At War With Chuck Eddy: aka: Kix's 1st album

2010-09-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna start posting a few reviews of records here. Just to look at some things I've missed out on over the years. The good, the bad and the awful. Here's a record that at times covers (mostly) the latter 2. However, I need to first cover where I first heard about this album.

Kix - Kix (Atlantic, 1981)
I first read about Kix in Hit Parader in some small article about "upcoming hot rockers" or another equally dumb feature. At least it wasn't another piece on Motley Crue, Ratt or main writer Andy Secher whining about "the speed metal sweepstakes". A few months later I saw the video around 11pm on Headbanger's Ball for the song "Midnight Dynamite" and thought it was pretty good. In recent years, I've heard it every so often on his show on my friend Big Chief's show on KZSU .

The Kix album show above was recommended to me by another KZSU DJ who (like me), loves to hate the "so dumb it's almost good" book Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe. The author Chuck Eddy is a hack that was wrote for "cool critic" places like Creem, Creem Metal (their short-lived/sometimes decent 80's spin off mag), and the Village Voice. Eddy's book is chock full of insane ideas on what he thinks is "heavy metal".

Specifically, Eddy's elastic definition includes everything from the pop of Teena Marie the party rap of the Beastie Boys - License to Ill to Bryan Fucking Adams'- Reckless to the experimental guitar works of Glen Branca to the WTFery of Celtic Frost's Cold Lake. Yet, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and every NWOBHM band is excluded! His take on NWOBHM is simply: "Seems those fickle Brits traded in their porkpie hats for leather and chains, and there was suddenly this 'New Wave' of metal overseas, all the bands (Saxon, Samson [spelled Sampson in the book], Marseille, Girl, Diamondhead) that everybody forgot about real quick, plus Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, who either inexplicably or explicably (depends on your point of view) would thrive forever."

A lot of this is lazy journalism making some odd-ball claim that, oh, 2nd wave ska musicians suddenly traded in their Desmond Dekker for UFO and started playing riffs? Sure, no one ever cared about "Diamondhead" ['cause Diamond Head's 2 words, duder] in the "big picture". Yet some bands called Metallica and Megadeth (who DH opened for on the 2004 UK tour) always did. They're even in his book (Metallica, 5 times and Megadeth...huh? Nope not at all. Saaaad!).

The book is filled with other insanities. This album I'm about to get into was in the Top 500 - at Number Five! Just behind #2 Gn'R's - Appetite of Destruction and #1 Fred Zep's - Bozo record at #1 (*kack*). A small consolation, from Eddy who says that GN'R: "owes more to Janis Joplin and Bo Diddley than to Deep Purple. 'Metal's where records stores filed it." True but, "owes more to Hanoi Rocks/Rose Tattoo and Nazereth and then waters it down" would be be more apt.

Anyway, on to KIX. These Baltimore cornballs jump around a lot. "Atomic Bomb" would've been at home on the first Ratt EP complete with Stephen Pearcy/Robyn Crosby-like harmonies. So far, so good. Then it's the utter wanky stadium rock of "Love At First Sight" so clichéd that even Ted Nugent would take a step back.

The weird skinny-tie new wave of "Heartache" is just confusing. Then they go back to the awful Sunset Strip by way of B'more tunes: "Poison" and "Contrary Mary" are iffy at best. The AC/DC worship: "The Itch" is pretty pointless. "Kix Are For Kids" is fast but chee-zee. I can do without choruses used as crutches - which is essentially the bulk of 80's pop. The Cheap Trick-like "The Kid" is pretty choice but it soon falls over into cock-rock right before it hits the chorus. Then it turns into a mess of slick harmonies and fluff that becomes the hair farmer gold standard (ex: Jackyl, Trixter, etc). The playing on the final track "Yeah Yeah Yeah" is OK. But really do we NEED another tune about "woman hunting"? Much less one that invokes even more Led Zep/Aerosmith ball-stroking AND mentions puking 'ludes?

Overall, it has a few sparks but no dynamite even for being ahead of their time. Although "ahead of it's time" isn't always stands the test of time like G.I.S.M. or Cromagon. Alright, you just read an entire Kix review now go listen to Master's Hammer, Beyond Dawn or Electric Wizard or...

Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!

2010-08-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

My best friend in high school, Steve's nickname was "Ozzy. He's the one who memorized all the banter from "Speak ofthe Devil". "Does anyboddyeee remembah th' ol' Phill Maurice? Yeah Maaan Phil Maurice*- woo! We used to get shitfaced...with yew groupies!...Let's hava RIOOOOTTT!" (*vomits out strawberry soda*). Randy Rhodes was one of my fave guitarists then. I once was in Westwood (L.A. area) and my friend bought me this killer 8x10 pic of Randy. I put it up next to one of Randy that Steve gave me from the Day on the Green show in Oakland (4th July '81).

Steve making the "Ozzy Face" and me trying to avoid the camera - '88 yearbook.

When my friends & I went to see him & Metallica on "Ultimate Sin" tour, the shithead stoners at school said they're going "to Metallica" even though they thought they were a "new band". My friend Danny's family were born-again Xtians but his mom was moving away from it and was OK with him going to the show. Tho' he had to keep it secret from his xtian/rascist fuckhead dad. My dad oddly enough almost prevented me from going. He was starting get involved in his (otherwise pretty liberal church) and believed that Tipper Gore was right about some of this "parental advisory" shit. He got pissed off at me putting the "Fuck Like A Beast" cover on my wall - so that's beginning of it. (Oh and...he was constantly pissed off at my hella punk rock sister).

Anyway, I heard a lot of the singles from "Blizzard", "Diary" and "Bark" back then. I even had a full Ozzy wall in my room (and a 'Maiden wall) where Steve would imitate every expression that Oz made (see pic above). The show was great. At the time I was burnt out on hearing about Metallica. Odd, sure but I was tired of all these dickwads that otherwisewould've hated them 2 years earlier. ("Fuck this, punk shit - put on Aerosmith!" I'm sure they'd say.) Metallica came on and they so fucking fast & heavy we COULDN'T deny how amazing they were. That and were quite stoned & tipsy from weed & wine in the parking lot earlier.

Ozzy that night was iffy at best. The band sounded fine but his voice was cracking and here & there was fuckin' a lyric or two. Still, I got a shirt with Ozzy clapping alongside Jake E. Lee. I started losing interest around '87 when I was burning out on much of Hard Rock & Metal. Didn't even care when "No Rest" came out. Having a guitarist named Zakk Wylde in the height of glam-fluff excess didn't help either. That said, he worked with a ton of great musicians and made some great stuff that I always feel good coming back to.

Semi-confused 16 year old

2010-06-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is my Metal Forces issue 23 ad when I was 16 and looking for bandmates for my shitty "idea band" Broken Entity. HUGE thanks to Black Laced Obesity from the Doomed Forever forum for sending this to me this morning. Made my fuckin' day!

Heard it a zillion times but it's STILL awesome

2010-06-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

Demonical from Sweden has that now acceptable again 1989-93 Swedish Death Metal tone. This song fuckin' kills - trend or no trend - it doesn't matter. It's just a brilliant sound and should be repeated several times over. Although, how are they able to recreate this WITHOUT a Boss Distortion pedal all on 10?

Dumpy's Rusty Crazy Artwork

2010-05-26T18:12:00.001-07:00

Amazingly crazy artwork from the guy that brought 1980's Kerrang! readers Pandora Peroxide and Marillion parodies: http://img24.imageshack.us/i/dumpy51.jpg/ How many bands are made fun of here? So far I've spotted ZZ Top, Gong (in a flying teapot, no less), Pink Fairies (or is it Pink Floyd? Both used the flying pig motif) and Hawkwind. In case you haven't heard Dumpy's band:

It's pretty good & very British hard biker rock. Not bad if you're knockin' back a few Sam Smith's.

Creepy History From Pleasanton

2010-03-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

From December 1997, San Mercury News.

Crazy thing is I believe this was the little sister of a N. Sampson who I went to jr. high & high school.

More info here.

Hottest Compare/Contrasts In Metal II

2010-03-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

On the flipside, Landmine Marathon has a background from the D.I.Y. Hardcore scene of Arizona. Namely, guitarist Ryan Butler spent time in Unruh, Structure of Lies and even the Northside Kings. Landmine Marathon’s metal-archives photo show’s singer Grace Perry as one of five members. Instead of the usual Nightwish-y/Lacuna Coil-ish “guess the singer” element. Although, accusations of said silliness can also be pointed at groups such as Behemoth as well as a heap of male-fronted bands on Rock N’ Roll Confidential

Landmine Marathon began on Level Plane and moved a bit upwards to Prosthetic the label who for better or worse gave the world Lamb of God. It seems, Revolver wants to simulatenously promote Metal and Hard Rock music while also catering to the lowest common demonimators of marketing and “what makes money, bro”. I have no theories for this other than that’s the way the industry works and its double-standards therein.

Decibel, Revolver’s main U.S. Competitor, satrized this brilliantlly with their 2006 “Hottest Doods In Metal” featuring members of R.A.M.B.O. and Converge.

In conclusion are we as fans recognizing them and the connected question, who defines what “hotness” is? Why is it soley summed up as a visual? Again, I only questions no theories. This post on Grind and Punishment sums it it better than I can.

ENDNOTES: Strangest venue for the Halestorm's Fall 2009 tour: “Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri. Calm down paranoid America, it’s just a Shriner’s mosque. You know the “wacky old guy 1920’s fez & cocktail, faux-Islam”.

Things I did at work

2010-03-19T12:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was thinking about my old job at the newspaper which I had for almost 11 years. Among the usual boring, stressful and altogether agonizingly dull tasks I had to do, I also did this:

* Drew hundreds of pictures & doodles
* Read stuff on Black Metal
* Read stuff on Metal-Archives.com for KZSU research
* Posted & edited my reviews on KZSU’s Zookeeper
* Drank beer at a company meeting - only twice the cheap bastards!
* Made long distance, non-business calls
* Thought about girls & talked to one of 'em I met on Craigslist for about an hour
* Wrote bits for my zines
* Watched a bunch of sheep er, co-workers go upstairs to watch the update for the O.J. trial. I stayed away, ‘cause I had work to do and didn’t really give a shit at that point
* Ate too much food
* Petted lots of dogs
* Listened to & watched the baseball playoffs
* Read guitar, baseball and music magazines
* Read a bunch of non-work related books
* Read maps
* Told customers to “fuck off” under my breath
* Read the paper (never our own, it sucked)
* Read an alchemical interpretation of Goethe’s “Faust”
* Unintentionally cut myself (multiple times)
* Read lyrics, wrote shitty lyrics
* Copied stuff outta zines, other papers & books
* Wondered why my co-workers were so fucking stupid about the world around them (actually this was every day and almost every hour).
* Ordered tickets to Prog Fest ‘99
* Scowled at stupid yuppie bitches babies
* Wrote e-mails to friends
* Read my friend Gary’s e-mail review of 50+ Frank Zappa albums
* Filled out forms and faxed entry forms for a zine fest
* Drank too much Dr. Pepper
* Slept too long on my break or even sometimes at my desk
* Put my fist into a phone – multiple times
* Talked to my a couple of decent co-workers about: vikings, history, prog rock, B-movies, pro wrestling, beer, sex & metal.
* Learned dirty words in Norwegian

Hottest Compare/Contrasts in Metal

2010-03-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

On the left is Halestorm who don't play Metal. However, the do play middle-of-the road/file next to Lita Ford/Headpins/Alaniya Miles drunk soccer mama rock The type Middle America loves it kinda just average at best, wallpaper-y loudish rock. While It’s not quite in the completely dreckful Papa Roach/Nickelback/Limp Bizkit spectrum. However, seeing all the usual promotional garbage attached in many ways makes them “just another we wanna make it big” band.

Their ad-laden myspace page carries the usual “we endorse/get get free shit from” variety (i.e. Gibson, Pro-Mark sticks, SIT strings) along with the nothing-actually-to-do with music of Monster Energy Drink and Vitamin Water. Oddly, within this Vitamin Water ad is a sponsored ad for yet another ad for: “The Music Fashion Project” where a be-fauxhawked” male model is er, hawking a generic ‘tribal tattoo’ -looking $33 (“normally $49" !?!) longsleeve shirt. The shirts are made by a company called "Teastain". Oddly, teastain’s site says nothing about “Charity’ and everything about:

“Unsatisfied with loud designs and over-the-top clothing, we took a stand. We decided to provide an alternative to the frenzied designs dominating the marketplace."

and:

"...People should have a stylish alternative to the $90 t-shirt. Clothing should not distract from what is most important... the person wearing it. Thus, Tea Stain Clothing was born. Always remember, you are the most important part of your wardrobe!”

Hence an “alternative” to the “cutting edge(?)” of Ed Hardy/Affliction/Famous. The only link to a charity is on the widget’s far right corner which is for http://www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org New Orleans Musicians Clinic. Obviously this is far more to do with pimping clothes than supporting chararties. It’s about as representative of this charity as Bounce Fabric Softer is for breast cancer. In short, you might as well say “welcome to the world of major labels”.

CON'T IN NEXT POST

Tankard, Municipal Waste & keggers on NPR = WTF?!?

2010-03-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Of all places, National Public Radio took up writing about not only Thrash Metal but keggers!? It's at least a lot more interesting than much of "This American Life" or anything from "Car Talk" but still weirds me out considering the source. I couldn't image Terry Gross interviewing the guys from Tankard and discussing the finer points of the demo version of "Zombie Attack" and it's raw & punky, early Teutonic Thrash sound: "So...you've been drinking a lot when you play this uh...'thrash metal, do you call it?...Tell me about that." Also, what the fuck is Alestorm doing in here? Horrible, horrible stuff. The kind of "Metal" your not-so-Metal friends point out to you and say "hey you like this stuff, huh? Hur-hur". Now I need a KQED tote bag to hurl in.

Few high school talent shows are this good

2010-03-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

much less in Sweden...but Klass 9C sure as fuck went way out with Mercyful Fuckin' Fate's "Black Funeral"! Most school teachers and administrators would have a heart attack if the kids performed this tune that tells in first person tale of a Satanic sacrifice complete with the lines "Forget that whore". Hell, most of the STUDENTS at my high school would've spazed out over those lyrics or at least thrown moldy cheeseburgers & Copehagen cans at us.

Sure, their costume choices are odd with the 1977 punk rock version of King Diamond and their Denner & Sherman look a bit more like Adam Ant which reminds me...

I'd watch Klass 9C for 12 hours before I EVER watched 10 seconds of any of those hack talent shows on TV. These kids might've wanted to be big stars at the time but the point is their naive genius lives on through the magic of technology.

"Now hail Satan - Yes HAIL SATAN!"/"Da-diddily ponk rock-Da-da-diddily ponk rock!"

More Early 90's Flashbacks

2010-03-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago, I was looking for a tape. I grabbed this mix tape my friend Kirsten made in 1994 (most of it is from 1990-92). The tape has a bunch of Nirvana demos. Tonight was the first time I've really listened to Nirvana in I dunno...14 years? I discovered them through KZSC with their killer song "Negative Creep". More about station here I caught the last half of the song one night. I though "Who DOES this?!?...Damn, this is AWESOME!" While I've heard them sporatically in recent years - Noteably my friend Bill on KZSU playing a bootleg version "Teen Spirit" with Kurt telling the audience it's just a rip off of Boston's "More Than A Feeling" which they also play a few bars from.

My friend Kirsten was the only person I ever knew that was in the Sub-Pop collector's club. She was also the only one I ever knew that liked Bang Tango , Sisters of Mercy AND Mudhoney. Her & I were friends from the SJSU's radio station, KSJS. I met her in September '91 she was wearing a Nirvana shirt just right before they blew up all over MTV. I told that I liked them too. It was hard at first to find people who liked the same music as me. Not so much at the radio station but the gangsta rap lovin' (mostly) white jock/wannabe frat boy contingent in the dorm wasn't exactly receptive to say, Dinosaur Jr. much less Napalm Death or Japanese noise.

Kirsten was into all of the other Seattle & Sub-Pop bands (even Pearl Jam and Mother Love Bone....yeesh!) and we talked about that a lot. At the same time she was also into a lot of what the station was playing: The Pixies, KMFDM, Foetus, Ride, Lush, Swervedriver and a bunch more. She was a lot fun to be around while we never dated we got to hang out a lot at the station and at shows. She wore Doc Martens and had long straight hair which she usually dyed black or various shades of red & purple. Not that I gave a crap about being trendy or "hip" but she was ahead of the curve on that whole thing. Oddly enough, the very practical clothes worn by punk & metalheads - i.e. Docs and flannel shirts did become trendy, "hot commodities" for jocks and trend zombies. We got to hang out a bunch of shows at the Cactus Club, Marsugi's - which I went to about 3 weekends in a row and One Step Beyond.

Back to the tape - as part of the Collector's Club, Kirsten got a lot of rare b-side tracks in her collection. She wrote me a list of them: Unsane, Fluid, Urge Overkill, and Flour

She also had the very awesome "Another Damned Seattle Compilation" which was all Seattle area bands covering songs by The Damned. (Ex: Love Battery, The Fluid, Gas Huffer). I heard this album in between bands at the amazing 5 band bill of
Quicksand/Gray Matter (D.C.)/Hammerhead/Melvins/Helmet. While not perfect (as in far too many wannabe AliceinPearlGardenPilots bands) San Jose shows in '92-'93 usually even played good music in between bands. I heard most of the Pixies "Trompe Le Monde" one night at Marsugi's, the Cactus Club would put on the ld Target videos on their overhead video monitor in between bands. You could sit at the bar and watch Black Flag and D.O.A. Even better, my friend Matt once saw a Target Video of MDC circa 1982 the same night he was went to see MDC in 1992! To think in that in the land of ultra lounges and "every 4-6 months there might be a show worth seeing" there used to be quality live bands playing at least 2-3 times a month. Sometimes on the same night and across the street from one another. That said, Kirsten & I were part of the same 20 people that went to (almost) every Sleep show in San 'Ho.

Anyway, the Coffin Breakcover of "Love Song" is killer. Very close to the original but still with a few variations. Check out their song "Kill The President" poppy & sarcastic as fuck. Bush the elder is on the cover of the 7". Then "Just Say To Religion" is not that far off from early Corrosion of Conformity. Their Sabbath cover "Hole in The Sky" is pretty ace, too. Any band that can rip it up on Sabbath and The Damned covers has my approval.

The rest of tape is filled with Urge Overkill and Afghan Whigs (more on them later).
Urge Overkill started like a Big Black-type of band - big harsh percussive and often punishing (their first EP is suuuper rare). They later turned into a pretty straight up hard rock/power pop band. If you hear "The Kids Are Insane" you'd swear the vocalists was Gene Simmons. And hell, "The Candidate"also sounds like KISS if they had Neil Young's Crazy Horse backing them. I forgot about somewhere around '94 when they did the dodgy song for the so-so Tarntino movie "Pulp Fiction". Really Urge was a friggin' arena rock band with a smaller budget not a bad thing, for the time but this era did give way to utter kack like greenapplequickstep and Paw.

The Afghan Whigsstuff was really good. Like Urge Overkill, their first release is really dirty and unkempt very unlike what they later evolved into. Kirsten gave me 5 tracks from "Congregation" (1992) and "Gentlemen" (1994) which is mid-paced, swaggery but laden with catchy chourses. Lyrically they were pretty much about drugs ("I'm Her Slave") and random shit "Turn On The Water" (I think it might be a drug OD reference) which had a crazy video of the band sitting in a bathtub while flooding an apartment. The song is pretty loose and funky. The rest is often in the similar direction. Good stuff that's got a decent amount of staying power.

Kirsten & I had a Media Studies class with Professor Baran. Baran was always a fun professor. He had a really thick Boston accent which sometimes was hard to figure out. He knew how to entertain the class often to the point of going over the edge.
In his smaller classes he would often tell severely un-P.C. jokes about Polish & Italian people.

Professor Baran: (Towards girl in the front row of class):
"Are you Italian?"
Girl: "Yeah..."
Professor Baran: "Oh, I thouat so...I kin call by yah mustache!"
Class: "Ohh...! Whoah!"
Professor Baran" "My motha's Italian!"

Having said that he always told the person he was joking. Still it was a bit out of order I'd say. Suprisingly, there were no students that railed against him or called for his firing. Now if this was UC-Berkeley or UC-Santa Cruz things would've been a shit storm of speech codes. I loved that SJSU wasn't really uptight yet in general people weren't bigots either. I became way more aware of the world going to school here. Yet it was considered a "3rd rate" after the more prestigious Stanford and Berkeley.

Kirsten & I were in a class of about 200 people. Prof. Baran used a 48" TV to show videos. For the section on "Violence & The Media" he had us watch "The Simpsons". "I only showin' ya this 'cause I know it's infAMitive for yah!" He joked. (It's the episode where Marge complains about "Itchy & Scracthy"). During that winter semester I saw a lot of shows at the San Jose's best "hole in the wall" club - Marsugi's. I got hammered with Kirsten & her lovely lady friends on kamakizes while watching the Seattle punk band Zip Gun & the San Diego kinda-grunge band, Olivelawn. The latter did their semi-hit "Hate Makes The World Go 'Round" later covered by local power-poppers, Overwhelming Colorfast. Marsugi's was the size of a cheap but decent sized apartment. The stage was a scant 4" off the ground. Think Thee Parkside cut in half. Lots of bands played here: Gwar (who sprayed their red "blood" everywhere), Mudhoney and even some band whose name rhymes with "bin-ana".

Kirsten & I continued to see each other at shows and around the station in this time. We ended up having some friends in common and made mix tapes of the various Nirvana bootlegs & Melvins stuff we each had. (At one point I had 4 different Nirvana bootleg singles). She ended up dating and eventually marrying, Jon, a who was the production director at KSJS. He was also in our friend Jody's band - Jennifer Rambles On. Looking over my live show list, I saw Jennifer Rambles seven times between December 1991-May 1993. I didn't even like their vocals much (kinda bordering on Smashing Pumpkins) but the combo of Jody's bass and Jon pounding drums made them really worth watching.

I fell out of touch with her after she graduated in the first half of 1994. In the early 2000s I read a few things about her & John's band Andalusia. The weekend of 9/11/01. I saw them play at the Works Gallery on North First Street in downtown S.J. They played a great show - often ethereal tracks that moved from introspective to full on loud-ass jams. They played with a bunch of video projections showing "Un Chine Andelou" and "Freaks". I caught up with them a lot and also a few months later I got them booked on KZSU's Wednesday Night Live. I tried contacting them a few weeks after that since they lived nearby but their website hasn't been updated since November 2003.

MTV Basement Tapes Bands

2010-03-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

When Jersey Shore was just a location for dickbags, MTV used to play this stuff called music and moreso they even kinda, sorta helped a few bands "make it". Even if it was for a few months in the checkerboard/rising sun-muscle shirt year of 1983. We'll start off with the show intro & some pud-pop from Screen Test. Followed by some short clips of bands that only help reiterate the Hardcore/Punk attitude against "that wave-o shit".

In a Seattle area zine about 12 years ago, The Melvins were joking about "all those great Seattle bands...like Rail" Later on Buzz of the Melvins mentioned that Rail did a side project with Ronnie Montrose called Monorail. Apparently there are no Monorail recordings but my friend Big Chief on KZSU will break out the Rail LP every once in a blue moon. This is the tune that won 'em over:

By Thor, it's a pretty cool Angel/Triumph-like sorta heavy pomp rocker. Unfortunately, they never gigged or did a split with 1984's winner, Trak who had this "barely past puberty" mix of The Babys/April Wine & The Osmonds(!?) And really, are you still a "basement band" if you're doing a video on MTV and recording for EMI?

Anyway, more searching gave way to this equally obscure band called Hostage.

Sounds like early Dokken mixed with Malice & Keel and maybe even a super-early Skid Row. Very L.A. but OK sound produced by Bob St. John who did some platters of crap for Extreme & those "Now That's What I Called Music" drink coasters, a few years later. Skinny-tie pop was also represented by President and lest I forget these Memphis weirdos, Dog Police:

Sounds suspiciously similar to Sparks' "Mickey Mouse". Now here's the Moderns - "Serve and Protect" envoking, as several bands in the 80's had - the "computers as dystopian future" theme:

I'll spare you the 1985 Basement Tapes with guest host Billy Crystal and the late Reagan-era Rockers Against Drugs ads.

Number of the...Barf

2010-02-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

Iron Maiden drummer and born-again Xtian, Nicko McBrain recently opened up a "rock & ribs" place in Coral Springs, Florida. Link/info courtesy of sport & sometimes music blog Can't Stop the Bleeding. More stuff http://rocknrollribs.com/

I suppose somebody in the 1980's had said: "dude, what if everything was Metal!? Like y'know...
cartoons
TV ads
shoes
cars
Christmas albums
school
college symposiums
news networks
neckties
and even fuckin' hot sauce! Then not only that but what if...I MEAN IF they could get Lars from Metallica, Dee Snider AND that dude from Anthrax to talk about Metal on TV-like all the time - it would be SO awesome!"

So, yep then they obviously predicted this weird-ass world we're in. All this "dood this is metal, too" stuff has become reality for better or worse. I'm sure people will be considering their Slayer hi-tops as "not cool" as some point. As for me...I still gotta sew on my Mercyful Fate patch on my denim jacket-I shit you not.

The How Did You Get Into... Metal

2010-02-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

OK, I saw this list on Metal-Archives' forum, so not the most original idea but it's fun to do.

Hard Rock:
First Queen & KISS then AC/DC. But visually & sonically it's unquestionably Nazereth's "No Mean City" LP.

Heavy Metal:
First the Scorpions then to a small degree and much larger degree later on, Judas Priest& Sabbath but more so Iron Maiden circa: "Number of the Beast", mixed in with Ozzy, Dio, & Motorhead.

NWOBHM:
2nd Def Leppard album (+ all else BEFORE "Pyromania"- the demo, first EPs & the first LP), Saxon & Raven then Blitzkrieg, Diamond Head (via Metallica, Grim Reaper and a ton more later.

Power Metal - 80's style:
Exciter, Helloween, Running Wild, Savatage (up to "Power of the Night" and a little of "Hall of the Mountain King"), Nasty Savage, Heavy Load.

Progressive Metal:
Queensryche, Fates Warning (I avoided both bands after 1988 though), VoiVod - since I didn't get into 'em until "Nothingface". It's rare as fuck that I like anything in this realm nowadays.

Thrash Metal:
Slayer's "Show No Mercy" then about a month later "Kill 'Em All" by Metallica followed a another year later by Exodus' "Bonded by Blood" and the floodgates didn't end 'til mid-'87 when it started really sucking.

1st Wave Black Metal:
Mercyful Fate, Venom & Hellhammer/Celtic Frost + and many years later Bulldozer/Bathory/Destruction/Sodom & recently - Sarcofago

2nd Wave Black Metal:
Satyricon's "Mother North" then the usual of Emperor, Darkthrone (but really got them when they started adding punk in their sound and went back re-reading the interviews to show that they WEREN'T racists or nazis, quite the opposite, Immortal - especially "At the Heart of WInter". (Early) Mayhem & Marduk in recent years

Death Metal - 1st wave
Possessed - Seven Fucking Churches, a bit later Death's "Human",

Death Metal - 2nd wave
Morbid Angel, Entombed, Carcass, Atheist, Dismember, Deicide, Gorguts, Master (though technically they're in the first category).

Grindcore - 1st wave
Napalm Death, Repulsion probably these 2 more than anyone

Power-Violence
Bleeaarrrrrgh comp stuff, Spazz, Crossed Out,

Punk Rock:
Ramones and later The Damned (most of all UK bands), Sex Pistols - though I now think they're pretty half-assed vs. a lot of the better bands around then: Siouxie & The Banshees, The Damned, Chelsea, Buzzcocks & so on...

Crossover/Hardcore - 80's:
D.R.I. - Dealing With It, Crumbsuckers - "Life of Dreams", Bad Brains - s/t ROIR tape, English Dogs, Attitude Adjustment, C.O.C. Later on: The Accüsed, M.D.C., Rudimentary Peni, Subhumans (UK), DKs, Black Flag, and a million more.

Crust:
Amebix, Meanwhile, Skitsystem, Sunday Morning Einsteins, Ausgebombt, recently: Crude SS & World Burns to Death

Viking Metal - first inklings
Heavy Load (to some degree anyway), Yngwie's "I Am A Viking" (tho' I think that song's really pretty half-assed), 'Maiden's "Invasion/Invaders", Silver Mountain - "Vikings".

Viking Metal - 1990's-now
Unleashed, Enslaved - Momumesion then went backwards into the catalog especially "Eld" and "Frost", Unleashed, Falkenbach, Amon Amarth - up to a point they've started to grate on me lately but maybe it's just their marketing machine than the music.

The Cows - "Sexy Pee Story" Story

2010-02-18T22:12:00.001-08:00

A rather epic review of demented damaged rawkers, The Cows 1993 LP "Sexy Pee Story" which is currently on display at in the halls of KZSU. This issue of the old zine [i]Your Flesh[/i] also includes a full-page slaggin of Glen Danzig's "Satan's Love Oaf Goes Orchestral" or really "Black Aria"-his classic/dark ambient album - which to this day I haven't heard. Having a roommate who's boyfriend sits in your apt all day - after you've come home from a long day of work only to hear "ah, dood I'm totally gonna win this Danzig MTV contest!" will put you off from every wanted hear him again. A random 7" by a random 90's neverheardof'ems called Flyer Saucers get this simple but funny review "Ralph Nader must've recalled their balls". Better is the review of a band, yes band called Paw. Paw was the target of well-deserved HATE. Namely because the fuckers had a scant 7" to their name, rarely if ever play outside Lawrence, KS (which was for 15 secs in 1993 "the next Seattle") and got signed to A&M. Here's some choice words from reviewer Bruce Adams:

"Paw may be the most glaring example of the absurdity to which the major label feeding frenzy has descended (does somebody at A&M really get paid to sign up this band ahead of proven entities? but it's no credit to the band's intelligence that they would sign p without having even toured nationally or seen how "the industry" work on the mist fundamental levels...Most bands want someone else to do everything for them before they finish their first rehearsal (shit, they think it's a God-given right) and this leaves them wide open to be fleeced...Oh yes, the music. paw work up a kind of slacker grunge that impresses mainly with its lethargy. Every song works up to a brief burst of wah wah and then float back down to an indifferent mumble. Somebody ought to left Herb Albert and his employees on to the fact that Nirvana had hit songs because Nirvana writes catchy songs. Paw sleep-walk through their lazy boned, a-dynamic numbers."

Other gems in this issue include an ad for the Peter Bagge/Dan Clowes double-header comic "Hate-Ball" comic tour. Got to witness it in Comic Relief in Berkeley they were both awesome dudes. Tho' the turn out could been much better considering they had their art on nearly every other Sub-Pop & garage rawk 7" out there. Plus ads for Nirvana "Incesticide", Jim Goad writing about growing up with 70's glam (one of his better pieces), some articles on new bands like Janitor Joe (awesome rumbly bass noise rawk on AmRep), Earth along with longer running acts: Sun City Girls, The Orb. [i]Your Flesh[/i] was full of content, wit, and little bullshit. They call 'em like they saw 'em. David Livingstone of God Bullies was one of the editors and some of the designers for Am Rep and other Minneapolis music/underground art connections. Conflict of interest with the Cows review? Maybe but still it was a damn good album by a helluva band.

Now for more Cows aka: stuff Empty Vee wouldn't touched with a 500 ft. pole:

Gotta love the "skin as t-shirt" designs on Shannon Selberg & his "hit by a semi horn.

40 years of life, 30+ years of Metal & Other Music Obsesso

2010-01-31T21:17:00.000-08:00

Friday was St. Vitus, Sat was my mega-party. Now officially today is that day. Then on Wednesday 13th February
this:
& Heavy Metal itself will be 40:

P. S. - I still can't believe Wino took his first hit of acid at age 12. Fuckin' crazy that.

The Return of Duckness...and Egret

2010-01-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

The Return of Duckness...and Egret

Bill aloft toward unholy moon full
Quack of revenge at sacral gull
Cattailed surroundedment
Upon thy web tallons
Unholy murk
Reeds of funeral
....and mild breezement
possess my feathers

Christ's sandwich crusts
will not suffice
Gaze upon firefly altars
Unholy breadcrumb sacrifiiiiiiice!

Mallard & Snowy Bewitching
Abyssic hunt for skridders
Diabolic molting on arms of priest
Sodomic rites with soft heads of brown
Besquaked shrills for our evil daffy master

Stoner Wall II: Coming in...let's say May

2010-01-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

Right now, I (finally) have a new job. Although, at the moment I have a lot more good and not-so-good distractions in my life That said, I'm aiming for actually completing the over-delayed Stoner Wall II in actual print format. I can't be arsed with the "everything on the blog" format because I have a horrible tendency to forget to I even HAVE a blog. That said, one of my many 2010 resolutions is to tell the blogosphere a permanent fuck off (save for Cosmic Hearse, Crow, WFMU, LockJaw and Hammer Smashed Music and maaaybe a few more but really so much, so little time).

Napalm Death Family Values

2010-01-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

Napalm Death band member time-line

...which overlaps nicely with this very complex Pete Frame-styled family tree:

Pro Wrestling vs. Death Metal

2009-12-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

Pro Wrestling

(Pretty Damn Generic 90's) Death Metal

Me thinks that Razor Ray has a pretty big Road Warriors influence. I only wish job interviews were this much fun.

What the fuck is a City Rock?

2009-12-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

Huey (without the News?), Bill Graham, Willie Brown & Diane Feinstein - can't get more official "City Rock" than this.
(Oh yeah, and Bob Weir).

Talk about over thinking it:

From page 56 of 63 fucking pages:

Hugh Jass
Posts: 1420
View Profile

Re: CITY ROCK
« Reply #830 on: April 12, 2009, 01:49:54 AM »
There has been dissent about what constitutes a City Rock movie, but let there be no quibbling about City Rock roller coasters. I am currently watching a PBS documentary about the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. City Rocker emeritus Eddie Money plays a prominent part in the doc and he asserts that the Giant Dipper is his favorite roller coaster anywhere. "To this day, it scares the living hell out of me."

Now we should discuss City Rock mini-golf courses. Golfland in Castro Valley is VERY City Rock, but what's the word on Scandia in Fairfield?

Oh shit! The doc now has Greg Kihn talking about playing the Boardwalk. This documentary must be the official City Rock carnival documentary."

NSBM bands just wanna rock with their (fascist) cocks out

2009-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

Exhibit One: Satanic Warmaster – covering Motley Crue’s “Take Me To The Top”

Exhibit Two: Nokturnal Mortum – covering W.A.S.P.’s “Wild Child”

So, will this mean that Graveland will cover Keel’s “The Right To Rock”? Or will Absurd cover Dokken’s “Paris Is Burning” complete with flamin’ guitar solo? If so, this would be a minor improvement on a bunch of lame-ass controversial bands whose music never seems to rise above “novelty value”. Yeah, yeah, I know Nokturnal Mortum loves to get down with the fiddles with their quasi-black metal shit but it’s still not selling me. Their bullshit beliefs aside, these bands rarely know how to put the METAL in Black Metal. Or the ROCK in their Rock Against Vulgar Marxism (or whatever the fuck their other styles are is). I mean as good sounding as the sketchy bastards like Der Strumer or Sigrblot are there's also the "can't play an audible chord or know how to make a decent song to save their life of War88 along with the or the pure comedy of the Nokturnal Mortem related power metal cheese makers, Finist

Even Satanic Warmaster confused about what night looks like:

Sure they live in Finland and in the summer there’s nearly 24 hours of sun but where’s the thematic consistency? They also play with openly neo-Nazi bands like Absurd then deny they’re NSBM. Also, last year, someone I know from the Finnish Metal scene told me at this same Absurd/Satanic Warmaster show there was a ton of people sieg-heiling. Way to go, geniuses.

When Metal Hammer failed to live up to its name.

2009-11-30T23:07:00.000-08:00

UK Metal Hammer's albums of the year in 1997. In the weird "Oh, Heavy Metal? That's not cool anymore, I listen to ____" era. They might've been the same idiots bursting out the bootleg Iron Maiden shirts but can't name any of their songs or albums.

1. Feeder - Polythene
2. Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth
3. 3 Colours Red - Pure
4. Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape
5. Deftones - Around The Fur
6. Radiohead - OK Computer
7. Paradise Lost - One Second
8. Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land
9. The Verve - Urban Hymns
10. Faith No More - Album Of The Year
11. Sick Of It All - Built To Last
12. Misery Loves Co. - Not Like Them
13. Strapping Young Lad - City
14. Metallica - Re-Load
15. Kerbdog - On The Turn
16. Green Day - Nimrod
17. Reef - Glow
18. Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Have A Ball
19. Oasis - Be Here Now
20. Life Of Agony - Soul Searching Sun

How many actual metal albums are there? Maybe 2 or 3? (if we taken in that not-so-good era Paradise Lost album). Even that Entombed albums a bit suspect. Granted this wasn't only Metal Hammer going in this direction but also Kerrang with the horrible normal font and the coverage of shit bands like Clawfinger, Stuck Mojo and Limp Bizquick.

Xmas Xcess

2009-11-30T22:24:00.000-08:00

Immortal

The King (as in Diamond)

Drametal (from Japan)

Metal Archives search

Bad News - featuring members of the Young Ones & precursor to...

....Spinal Tap

Motorhead

Nothing like David Lee Roth in elf pants

Fuck You, Non-Cloud Havin' Sky...

2009-10-10T00:52:00.001-07:00

...the new Immortal's out and it REALLY needs to get cold! It just doesn't feel TRUE without it.

Some choice lines from "Arctic Swarm":

"Through the storm of storm the Aurora lights
In her swirling skies a wrathlike ice
Born to ride the cold, winds of the North
Cometh to freeze the grounds "

Of Walls and Whitecross

2009-10-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Take a gander here, this is some goofy, very Reagan-Bush-era stuff. Filmed not long after the Scorpions er, Eastern European citizenry (and NOT WrongOld Raygun) took down the Iron Curtain, Christian Nerf-Metallers, Whitecross did their own take. I'm not too sure what this "new" wall is but the lyrics allude to "Jesus said the Kingdom's just a prayer away". Okkeeey, but your carpenter buddy also said:

"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."
(Luke 19:2).

So explain THAT one fluffy-hair prostelyzin' dude.

Hit 'Em All

2009-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Gorman Thomas, Brewers, 1980

and his Danish not-quite brother, 1983

"...and we hate Slayah wot more can we fookin' say?!"

2009-09-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

Mike Reid's BBC1 Radio Show discussed the #15 on the station, which wasn't the usual MTV fare. On a dare they play
Fellow DJ, Tommy Vance bet them £100 to play Venom's "Warhead", a song which took even my metalic ear awhile to get used to.

Extreme Venom fans from Brummie land, Mark & Steve continually call the BBC answering machine but also run out of pence on the phone box. Still, they hand on to claim: "No fooker's gonna stop us-nobody...and you piss on all those wanka bands (like) Mercful Fate and even kick in...Accept and W.A.S.P." Eventually adding these choice quotes:

"I'm a Venom geek but I feel I must keep on about it."

"They're fookin' American liggers" Liggers is Brit slang for 'hanger on'. More on that via Urban Dictionary:

BBC in the Northeast area did an interview and dissed in order Metallica, Boy George and themselves.

While this was very silly, I'm sure there were a certain group of Norwegian teenagers that latched on to the "Pure Fuckin' Mayhem" concept.

Then there was this gem from a 1984 Dutch Radio where all 3 members of Venom were pissed to tha gills:

Part 1

Part 2

Mantas' fave band was Y&T. I wonder what he thought of that tumor called "Summertime Girls"?

In the future - everything will be "indie rock"

2009-09-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Pitchfork Media, yeah I read 'em sometimes- it's the "monkey with typewriters" thing every so often the get it right. Here's an example:

It's not just music, either. I don't know quite when it happened, but at some point a certain vague strain of "indie" dropped its last vestiges of seeming weird and became a commonplace-- sort of like in Britain, where "indie" has long been synonymous with the normal guitar bands people find fashionable. When those I'm-a-Mac, I'm-a-PC commercials came out, I even saw some ad critic describe Justin Long's Mac guy as an "indie type." Why? He's just a young middle-class-looking white guy with a haircut. (I'd be more aghast, except it's actually not hard to imagine him telling you about the New Pornographers.) And soon enough any film, book, or cultural product that came anywhere near a certain sensibility-- anything anyone would describe as "quirky" or cleverish or tender-- fell in the indie bucket, too: Garden State with its hilarious Shins scene, Wes Anderson movies, Dave Eggers (??), Juno, Zooey Deschanel's general existence, private colleges, button shirts, the Internet, IKEA, Miracle Whip, literacy, you tell me. The sensibility used to seem rarer, and then, I suppose, half the people attracted to it grew up and got creative jobs and now it floats everywhere. So huge swathes of twentysomethings, like anyone with a college education or a Mac or a strummy guitar record: indie, apparently? Which is allegedly quite the thing these days.

from Nitsuh Abebe's "The Decade in Indie"

Did ya hear, bro' the Internet is TOTALLY INDIE! So's Zooey Deschanel who can be currently be seen shilling for the cotton industry in some horrible "song-emercial". Everytime I think the metal & punk scene(s) are overwrought with b.s., I can just go on Pitchfork and be realize that it's not so bad. Now where's that Embrace of Thorns CD?

Many years before I had the name of my zine...

2009-09-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

these stoners did it

Listen to my radio shows!

2009-09-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

Bloodstains Across Atherton-Half Ass edition
8th August 2009 HERE

Note: the opening track starts mid-way through and unfortunately the Lifelover track cuts off. Also, I had a trainee DJ named Nate on with me. He now has his own show late on Tuesdays

Playlist:

Samothrace - Cacophony - Life's Trade
Kylesa - Said And Done -Static Tensions
Isis - Threshold Of Transformation - Wavering Radiant
Sunn O))) - Big Church [Megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért]
- Monoliths And Dimensions
Harvey Milk - Old Glory - COLL: Oaken Throne Zine CD comp #5
Rome - Flight In Formation - Flowers From Exile
Swans - Will We Survive? - Various Failures 1988-1992
Beyond Dawn - Certain Qualities- Electric Sulking Machine
Lifelover - Mental Central Dialog - Konkurs

Bloodstains Across Atherton
4th July 2009 HERE

This isn't the entire show but it's the last hour, where I crammed in a lotta tunes- a number of which are on old-ass vinyl.
So "digital perfection" this is NOT, just turn it UP!

Playlist:

Nomad, Naz & the Nightmares - Action Woman - Give Daddy the Knife Cindy
The Mummies - Test Drive - Play Their Own Records
The Rippers - Mr. Jones - Why Should I Care About You?
Pentagram - Be Forwarned - First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection
ZZ Top - Precious And Grace - Tres Hombres
Brutal Truth - Fist In Mouth - Evolution Through Revolution
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Moral Distortion - Agorapocalypse
Born Dead Icons Burden/Unlearn - Unlearn 7"
D.R.I. God Is Broke - Dealing with It
Cryptic Slaughter - Lowlife - COLL: Speed Metal
Obliveon - The Scrutinizer - COLL: To Live Is To Ever Be In Danger/Whimsical Uproar demo
Janitor Joe - KCL - Bullethead/KCL 7"
Tervet Kadet - Outo Maa - COLL: Welcome to 1984
Ohlo Seco - Nada - COLL: Welcome to 1984
Smelly Tongues - Parasite - Hard To Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation
Skin Yard - Snowblind - Hard To Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation

Corpse Paint - An Illustrated History

2009-09-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

Well an almost history. C'mon dewd, Kevin Sullivan circa: 19 fookin' 83!

Granted his corpse-painted-ness was more under the radar than the Road Warriors or Demolition (the WWF's Road Warriors rip off). Also, you can buy the above Francesca Bunny Williams' print from Wonderleague in the UK. Wonderleague also has a good collection of "yes, they REALLY made these" trading cards.

Murderous Math Game

2009-08-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

Late 70's-era Chuck Manson +

now-era Varg

= William Morva, current death row inmate in Virginia.

A few reasons to go to Trenton, NJ

2009-08-31T15:12:00.001-07:00

This Overkill/Venom/Black Flag show is the one that Henry Rollins wrote and spoke about in "Get In The Van". A bit more of that is here. It's likely he wasn't around for Overkill (the Jersey one, not Flag's SST labelmates) but I wonder what he would thought about Bobby Blitz & co.

All knobs to the right!

2009-08-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

All knobs to the right not left! We're makin' metal here not a friggin' Mariah Carey record.

Leemind Dorianmarathon

2009-08-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

Napalm Death's Lee Dorian 1989

Landmine Marathon's Grace Perry & Ryan Butler 2009

While seeing Landmine Marathon for the first time on Tuesday night, I was reminded of this iconic photo of Lee Dorian circa: From Enslavement To Obliteration (or as it's known in metal forums, "FETO, dood!") The unpredictable and amazing stage prescence of Grace Perry as well as her choice in fine flannel shirts, reminded me of this forever ingrained image of the then N.D./now Cathedral frontman. Granted, I never saw Napalm Death in 1989 as they didn't come to the Bay Area until a year or two (?) after the release of "From Enslavement..." on the "Grindcrusher" tour with Godflesh and (I think) Carcass. That said, I lucked out and saw them on the following tour with Dorrian-fronted doomsters Cathedral & Carcass. I might post a "retro-show" review of that sometime.

Getting back to the present, Landmine Marathon reallytore it up. Seemingly endless strains of extremely fast yet continually interesting songs. All of which seemed to mix grindcore, death metal and the fastest thrash metal with extremely heavy yet not cliched breakdowns. While they have received a decent amount of press via Invisible Oranges, Decibel and even the otherwise "Hot Topic-ists" at Revolver have a guest blog by aforementioned Grace Perry here. L.M. was not only a fantastic band onstage but also also very friendly folks off stage. Always good to see bands that are "complete" i.e. great music, interesting lyrics, good artwork, great live show & sincerely nice people. So now get your ears onto this: 'cause it fuggin' RULES!

Silly Leather Clothes to Wear and Happy Cigarettes

2009-07-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

High weirdness by radio, made by parody songsmith Ogden Edsl. Edsl was most known for his Dr. Demento chart topper, "Dead Puppies". Unlike the more common but sarcastic take on death of "Dead Puppies", this was possibly one of the first "pedo creep" clown songs. Sure, evil clowns from the reality of John Wayne Gacy and to fictional of Pennywise were around but this was before the taboo breaking and now very common Michael Jackson-related jokes. And really was't Michael Jackson a multi-billion dollar (media) circus clown?

So, let's go back to 1979 (!) with some dementia Also, there's this warped lo-fi video version

Interestingly, this came about before Kinko's the copy store was around.

Japanese for awesome

2009-06-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately this Japanese translation of pro wrestling legends The Road Warriors isn't imbeddable but check it out, here

Ex-hard rock bumblebee marries ex-hooker - both born again Xtians

2009-06-03T22:27:00.001-07:00

What the fuckery from Blabbermouth

STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox's wedding to Annie Lobért, a 41-year-old former call girl who founded the international Christian ministry Hookers for Jesus, will be webcast live via www.thechurchlv.com/live on Friday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Special song(s) will be sung by Michael Sweet and Oz Fox of STRYPER, Rachel Sneed (The Church At South Las Vegas worship leader) and the bride-to-be.

The Blabbermouth link also features a clip of Ms. Lobert on the 700 Club. I'm still waiting for a G.G. Allin type to became an born again. After all that's gotta be somewhere between hookers and say, pro wrestlers, right?

It's as simple as Hell, Satan and Death

2009-04-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

While this made the rounds a bit in the metalsphere, it's still quite a source of amusement.

Slayer

Metallica

The Finnish Manowar?

2009-04-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Teräsbetoni - with the song Orjatar. The band name is Finnish for "reinforced concrete" it's plenty metal and plenty cheesy. Castle, unplugged instruments, writhing oversexed women? Tick all 3 boxes. These dudes also have the tune "Taivas lyö tulta" which (according to Metal-Archives) was selected to be the Finnish national ice hockey team's goal song.

They're just an Earth cover band

2009-04-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Who sound better a 45 RPM (or at least with Attila Cshiar)

Nothing Like Makin' Up Your Own Genres

2009-03-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah, dood this is my favorite "Glam Death Metal" band of all time! Are they also dissing Slayer by saying "Hell Can Wait"?

Trapped Under Coinciden-ICE!

2009-03-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Abbath from Immortal from "Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms" video

vs.

"I Want a New Drug Era" Huey Lewis? Weird, innit?

Things I Learned In 70's Comic Books

2009-03-10T13:49:00.001-07:00

1) I used to think these were cigars and not "filtered meat snacks". I never had them when they were in these wasteful packages. Not that the "Macho Man" Savage-era Slim Jims were eco-conscious but still...

2) You could get a skinny-ass skateboard for under $40. My sister had one like this but it was the "Sidewalk Surfer" brand with crappy clay wheels. I later got me a banana board which was similar but (banana) yellow, then moved up to a few slightly wider Gemco models with grip tape. I eventually got sick of munchin' it whilist running over rocks and went full on into the multiple terrain friendly world of BMX.

"Whoa! This looks neat-o AND it has Spiderman. Mom, can I have a quarter-rrrr-r?" Naturally, I gravitated toward Ghost Rider's flame/death/revenge aesthetic and this was when I was still stuck listening to Wings and the Eagles on AM radio.

4) I didn't know jackshit about religion at age 6 but this blew my mind I knew something scary and dark was going on here. I had never seen a scene of Jesus on a crucifix before but I did see THIS. Were the comic book versions of the Bible this awesome looking? Well, maybe Chick tracts were but that's before I knew what cynicism and irony were.

Someone better make this an album cover-and fast!

2009-02-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

I'm seeing gatefold sleeve. I nabbed this from olga salgo's fantastic flickr page - chock full of images of old, wonderous and obscure films as well as strange dolls. Her Giallo Junction and The Black Motion Picture Experience series are choice.

I have no idea which Blaxspoitation movie the above photo is from but damn, do I wanna see this!

Best Of 2008

2008-12-31T20:11:00.000-08:00

No order of preference, this was yet another very strong year for metal. In fact, there's a good 10-15 releases that I never got around to that I know are potentially worthy of this list. Same goes for the everything else section.

HEAVY STUFF - Metal/Punk/Hardcore
1. Darkthrone – Dark Thrones and Black Flags (Peaceville/Tyrant Syndicate)
2. Blood Ceremony – Blood Ceremony (Rise Above)
3. Hail Of Bullets - Of Frost And War (Metal Blade)
4. Soilent Green - Inevitable Collapse In The Presence Of Conviction (Metal Blade)
5. Superbad - East River Deathsquad 7” (Torture Garden Picture Co.)
6. Enslaved - Vertebrae (Nuclear Blast)
7. Misery Index - Traitors (Relapse)
8. World Burns To Death - The Graveyard Of Utopia (Prank)
9. Avskum – Uppror Underfrån (Prank)
10. Rudimentary Peni – No More Pain (Southern)
11. Unleashed - Hammer Battalion (SPV)
12. Unearthly Trance - Electrocution (Relapse)
13. Thou - Peasant (Autopsy Kitchen)
14. Made Out Of Babies - Ruiner, The (The End)
15. Jucifer - L'autrichienne (Relapse)
16. Disfear - Live The Storm (Relapse)
17. Gnaw Their Tongues - Dawn Breaks Open Like A Wound That Bleeds Afresh (Universal Tongue)
18. Bloody Panda – Pheromone (Level Plane)
19. Bloodbath- Fathomless Master, The (Peaceville)
20. Desaster - 666 - Satan's Soldiers Syndicate (Metal Blade)
21. Holy Moses - Agony Of Death (SPV)
22. Dismember - Dismember (Regain)
23. Agenda of Swine – Waves of Human Suffering (Relapse)
24. Skepticism - Alloy (Red Stream)
25. Toxic Holocaust – An Overdose of Death... (Relapse)
26. Nachtmystium – Assassins – Black Meddle Part I (Century Media)
27. Menace Ruine – Cult of Ruins (Alien8)
28. Arckanum - Antikosmos (Moribund)
29. Elk/Carrion - split (no label)
30. Koldbrann - Stigma: På kant med livet (Twilight)
31. Agalloch – The White (Vendulus)
32. Beercraft - Demo 2008 (self-released)
33. Motorhead - Motorizer (Spv Gmbh)
34. Urfaust - Drei Rituale Jenseits Des Kosmos (Debemur Morti Productions)

EVERYTHING ELSE - folk, prog, psych, etc
1. Sts9 - Peaceblaster (1332)
2. Firewater – The Golden Hour (Bloodshot)
3. Lights – Lights (Language of Stone)
4. Death In June – The Rule of Thirds (Nerus)
5. Legendary Pink Dots - (ROIR)
6. Airfix Kits – Airfix Kits (self-released)
7. Dungen – 4 (Kemado)
8. Elephant9 - Dodovoodoo (Rune Grammafon)
9. Glass Candy - Beat Box (Rough Trade)
10. Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (Type Records)
11. Guapo - Elixirs (Neurot)
12. Tommy Jay - Tommy Jay's Tall Tales Of Trauma (Columbus Discount)
13. Irata - Irata (Self-released)
14. Kim Ki O - En Az Iki, En Fazla Sekiz (Slusaj Najglasnije!)
15. Silver Summit - Silver Summit (Language of Stone)
16. Mudhoney - The Lucky Ones (Sub Pop)
17. Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis - Indian Giver ( Birdman Records)

REISSUES/OLD STUFF
1. Hellhammer – Demon Entrails 3xLP (Century Media)
2. Belong – 2006 Tour EP
3. Everything by Eric Malmberg (solo & with Sagor & Swing)
4. Helrunar - Baldr ok Iss (Lupus Lounge)
5. Defiance, Ohio - Share What Ya Got (Plan It-X)

LIVE SHOWS
1. Lichens/Om @ Brookdale Lodge January ‘08
2. Conspirarcy of Beards, etc. al @ Thee Parkside 2nd of February
3. Subhumans (UK)/Conquest for Death @ Slim’s – 4th March
4. Candlemass @ Slim’s 30th May
5. Needles/Yellow Eyes on WNL @ KZSU – June?
6. Deténe/Hirax/Attitude Adjustment @ Tidal Wave Metal Fest – McLaren Park 5th July
7. Laibach @ The Independent, 25th September
8. Embers/Saros/Nachtmystium/Wolves in the Throne Room @ DNA 12th October
9. Sir Richard Bishop - @ Aquarius Records 26th October
10. Ludicra/Asunder/Corrupted @ Slim’s – 31st October Metalween
11. Orb of Confusion/Beercraft @ Cedar St. Dome, Berkeley 21st December

BEST NEW(ISCH) BANDS:
1. Mourne (Boston)
2. Lights (Brooklyn)
3. Helrunar (Germany)
4. Kathaaria (Germany)
5. Elk (Oakland)
6. Beercraft (Oakland)
7. Orb of Confusion (Oakland)
8. G.A.T.E.S. (Japan)
9. Necrite (San Jose)
10. Abrupt (Oakland)

OTHER
1. Metal, Music & Politics Conference in Austria 1st-5th of November
2. Making more friends in the metal/punk scene
3. Nagawika’s Metal Comics
4. Austrian Beer & Austrian & German Bretzels, Metal Mags und chocolates

Separation of Church and Snacks!

2008-12-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

I once bought some chips called Uncle Ray's Cool Ranch Chips completely randomly at Walgreen's. While they don't taste that great & were rather predictable they weren't horrible like the Frito-Lay (C)(R)(TM) products. The most baffling thing was the packaging. It like many things from the store, it had a "even though we're a mass produce consumer product, we're all about people" vibe to it. The package had a cartoon of Uncle Ray. Next to this was a summary of his dear departed uncle which was written by Ray's brother. Then the text took a strange U-turn: "My brother is now with our lord Jesus Christ" followed by a lengthy quote from Psalms 23:1-6, ugh. Btw, for you who had to Google that (myself included), it's the one that says "The Lord's my sheppard, i shall not want...I shall fear no evil." Blah, blah...I know it more from the Venom song "Welcome To Hell" but that's another story.

Snacks For Thee Sacred

Strangely, the very Christian Uncle Ray's even makes Kosher Dill Potato Chips. Kosher? Why not? Snacks for newly converted Jews during during the Rapture. Just like John McCain's preacher pal said. More kookiness here

Overthinking the "hipster metal" thing

2008-12-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

craziness going in all sorts of weird directions.

I mean there's examples and there's WAY too obscure examples. All of which that make no point. And there's this gem:

"Which reminds me: Slayer. That was where I drew the line. Could never get into them."
Whuuut? I think Mr. Reynolds needs to get back to his Vampire Weekend album and fawning over whatever he's on about for the Wire these days.

Birth of the Beast: A Basic History of Heavy Metal – Chapter I: 1968-79

2008-12-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

I wrote this for last Fall's KZSU program guide, so if you're not in the listening area of KZSU you probably didn't see this. Enjoy.

Before you ask - I’m nixing Led Zeppelin, AC/DC (both swell bands but they just got played on 500 different stations as I wrote this). Aerosmith also loses ‘cause this is KZSU not VH-1, alright?!? This period of ’68-’79, deals with some real grey areas. Where does the proto-metal come in the hard blues rock, prog or psych go out (or vice-versa)? Here’s some obvious choices and some of the not-so obvious.

1. Blue Cheer – Vincebus Eruptum – (Vertigo, 1968) These S.F. hippies, strangely gave way to some Heavy Metal (see St. Vitus), Heavy Psych (see High Rise) and even Grunge Rock (see Mudhoney)
2. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (Warner Bros, 13th February 1970) Dark, dread, doom and undeniably the truest, purest origin of HEAVY METAL - end of debate!
3. November - En Ny Tid Är Här (Sonet, 1970) Only a few months after Sabbath (or one can surmise). An amazing mix of Cream’s blues swagger, Tony Iommi’s guitar tone, big bass and wild drumming. All but one song in Swedish but these guys play the international language of badass.
4 & 4 1/2 Pentagram – First Daze Here Too (various recordings 1973-76, Relapse reissue, 2006) & Bedemon – Child Of Darkness (recordings from 1973-74, Black Widow reissue, 2004). There’s legendary and virtually unknown but Pentagram and Bedemon are both. First Pentagram – who paint in bits of Blue (Cheer) and Black (Sabbath) but definitely create something of their own. Both Pentagram and Bedemon made it even darker, managing to still crush on a limited recording budget. Bedemon features the stunning guitar/vocal work of Randy Palmer. (He joined Pentagram in 1974). Pentagram still exists today in some form or another and it’s can be seen in things like the label 20 Buck Spin, local tribute act Parallelogram and even Arnelli’s Pizza.
5. Deep Purple – In Rock (Warner Bros., 1970) Bombastic and very over the top heavy rawk legends that knew how to jam AND write really great songs. Plus, NO “Smoke on the Water”.
6. Nazereth – Razamanaz (A&M, 1973, Reissued 2007) While mostly a heavy blues rock album (lots o’ swagger n’ slide guitar) - the reissue has 4 bonus tracks were probably “too heavy” for ‘73. In a fair world, Guns N’ Roses would be only known for a dodgy ballad and Nazereth would be mega-huge. Vocalist Dan Caffery puts the “whiskey” in “whiskey soaked voice”.
7. Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (Mercury, 1976) Granted it’s the one with the 3 big hits but also it has “Emerald” which is one massive riff and next to the Scorpions & ‘Priest (+ ‘Maiden a few years later) some of the earliest and greatest dual guitar harmonies.
8. Judas Priest – Sad Wings of Destiny (Gull, 1976) In a word: Intensity. This kicks off what we will hear a lot of in the 80’s: huge sound, extreme sharp guitars & screamin’ vocals (done the right way) and 100% energy.
9. Scorpions – Taken By Force (Mercury, 1977) Killer, pre-MTV Scorps with the deadly guitar duo of Rudolph Schenker and Uli Jon Roth. So many great songs that scream “heavy rock und fuggin’ roll”.
10. Motörhead – Motörhead (Chiswick, 1977) The first band loved by metalheads and punks. British, lawn killin’ speed freaks that were truly the first “extreme metal” band. Still continuing to outlast every lame trend.
11. Rainbow – Long Live Rock N’ Roll (Polydor, 1978) There’s something about pairing the guitar virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) and very commanding vocals of Ronnie James Dio (later of Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell, Dio) that makes this work to near perfection on every song.
12. Heavy Load – Full Speed At High Level (Heavy Sounds, 1978) These Swedes got a jump start on the UK’s New Wave of British Heavy Metal by playing some galloping riffs (with only one guitar!?) with off-metered vocals. There’s even a near speed metal tune about Vikings!
13. UFO – Strangers In The Night (Chrysalis, 1979) Near perfect live album from that just screams “arena rock perfection”.

Honorable mentions:
High Tide – Sea Shanties (Liberty, 1969) Mostly good, very “jammy”, skating away on the thin lines connecting prog, hard psych and proto-metal.
Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (Mercury, 1969) “I Am The God of Hellfire!” is the first thing you hear which makes it’s pretty shocking but not far off in the zeitgeist of Manson and Vietnam. Brown’s vocal histrionics that put him ahead of his time.
Sir Lord Baltimore – Kingdom Come (Polygram, 1970) Bombastic stuff from the UK, with a faster, looser and wilders than Zeppelin feeling.
Lucifer Was – Underground And Beyond – Very interesting Norwegian Tull/Sabbath-ish proto-uh…folk-metal rockers. (Record Heaven, 1971, reissued 1997)
Accept – Accept (Brain, 1979) Pretty solid debut for these soon to be highly influential but often unheralded German bangers.

Manowar's "Defender" Smurf style

2008-12-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

You haven't heard it all until...you've heard Manowar's "Defender" on on 45

First there's the intro by Orson Wells then then vocals kick in. Dare I say it's better than Rush & Zeppelin on 45? Thanks to Erich at GoodBad Music for uploading this.

"The crowning conclusion: group picture with a coffee cup"

2008-11-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

Last Week's "Music, Metal and Politics" conference in the fantastic city of Salzburg, Austria:

Left to right: Daniel (Danmark), Me, Marcus & Mikael (Finland), Elizabeth (Florida, USA).

Mere en sie artikler/more in this article. For fotos click the little spot that says "mehr" underneath the photo of the guy in the Morbid Angel t-shirt. All via München's Radio One

Full Metal Conference Report (abstract)

2008-11-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

My full report(s) on last week's "Music Metal and Politics" will be posted here soon. As you may know the conference took place in the amazing, historic and fairly progressive city of Salzburg, Austria. I'm waiting to get my photos back (yeah I'm still doing them the old way) and will be linking and also posting a few of those here. I think my presentation on "Extreme Politics and Extreme Metal" was generally well-received. Although I ideally wanted to do the "Jay-Z method" of practicing it 18 times.

Regardless, my almost complete Fenriz impression went over as well. (See the video interview from "A Blaze in the Northern Sky"). Made lots of new friends & contacts, have lots of new writing projects to look forward to. I learned that I'm (semi) functional in 3 languages even while drinking big ass Austrian beers.

Rather good metal podcast

2008-10-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Podcasts in general can be dicey in terms of quality. Sometimes you just have people making annoying, pointless inside jokes and talking about absolutely nothing. However, the two guys behind, Requiem Metal Podcast have a lot of good insights into the music and a good variety of bands and albums featured. They've covered Swedish DM, Morbid Angel, Immortal, Blind Guardian and Keelhaul so far. It's worth your time. So, listen to 'em.

HERE

Metal Music and Politics Paper (Revised)

2008-10-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

As mentioned earlier I'm going to be presenting a paper at the first annual Metal, Music and Politics Conference in Salzburg, Austria. Here's the paper. I'll also soon be posting the handouts (once I can figure out how to put all those pages online)

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Our bands might look "funny" but at least they don't suck as bad as this...

2008-10-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

So Bathory and Deicide look a bit "off" but seriously, how many people do you know that have been listening these bunch eyeware ad modelling fools aka: Mates of State ? Are there people that collect everything they own? Do they have a dedicated fanbase around the world and people that even do cover songs of these indie turds? Are they ever gonna do a live album that people can recite from beginning to end. I think not!

Oh, but some say that "metal all sounds the same". I've heard these attitude from people who don't even have a clue how long I've been listening to indie rock. Full disclosure: at least since 1988. It could be argued that up until "indie rock" required an overt professionalism (re: glossy promo photos, massive press kits, massive pre-album hype), it actually had an identity and wasn't riddled with half-assed melodies and annoying vocalists and lifeless song structures. Like prog-rock at the end of the 70's, it's become an illusion of it's former self.

Why are so many bands ruined by MTV?

2008-10-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Last night on KZSU, I played a live version of Krokus' "Headhunter" . While Krokus' output has often been up and down - OK, mostly on the downside for me, they still have a number of killer songs. 1983's "Headhunter" was certainly great for the time it was out. I was friggin' 13 and was impressed by how fast and in my pre-Metallica/pre-Slayer awareness, how intense it sounded! Bands like Krokus like the Scorpions and to a lesser extent Motley Crue and Twisted Sister are more known for the polished crap they did on MTV where as all of these bands in 1983 where considered Heavy Metal. I mean, I wasn't like the older heshers in other towns who not only saw Metallica and Exodus in the clubs but knew them !

"Sex and drugs and rock n' roll is my cuppah teeeeeeeee - time to meeeet Heeeeadhuntahhhhhhh!" And dood, listen to those sweet double leads. Fernando Van Arb was really on to something. Anyway, this one's kinda short. I've been racking by brain today by writing about Extreme Metal and Extreme Politics for the "Music, Metal, and Politics" conference.

Countess...!

2008-09-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

and sadly they don't list "Blood Fire and Death" on their list of products. Quite sad, really.

Foothill v. Amador: Tied For Most Wack MCs

2008-09-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you search for your alma mater on YouTube:

This has so many kinds of wrong, it makes this video from last assgrab season is almost tolerable. I meant to say, rod throttling season oh, er...OK, how 'bout football season?

So, if the lame wasn't cranked up enough...we have now the video that the Foothillic-- (Ack! Fuck it, I CAN'T even think of writing it much less SAYING it) kids were mocking via our crosstown "rival", Amador High. If there ever was such a thing was Ultra-Wack Ass this would be it:

Yo, yo...D-Unit all up in that Main St. shhizznat. From the downtown av P-Town? Whu-whu...? they ain't rollin' inta the drive thru dairy or grabbing some gay pizza?

Back around '84, I was actually friends with a dude that was into hip-hop before nearly everyone else in town. He was white but actually went to see 2 Live Crew in '87 at some club in Oakland when the vast majority of the kids at school were scare shitless to even step foot in that city (minus the "Dead shows" at the Coliseum). Fred even owned a super early 2 Live t-shirt with a cartoon duck DJ saying Trow That D" on it. Fred G. was DOWN before you were born! Anyway, these videos just reek of every horrid stereotype that now nouveaux-rich kid town represents. Then whadda expect from kids that think Limp Bizkit is "old school"?

Metal History III: This Saturday on KZSU

2008-09-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

This Saturday Midnight-3am (as in when Friday ends) I'm conjuring up another lesson in audio violence covering 1980's thrash crossover, early waves of Black & Death Metal and few odd & ends leftover from last session

The list of potential stuff to play is massive like everytime time I put together one of these specials. But I certainly want to at least get into Crossover since that was an important part of metal and punk despite some people on both sides of that equation hating it. Also, early Death Metal and Black Metal will definitely be in the mix. So, check it on your radio (90.1FM) and online

Extreme Music and Extreme Politics

2008-08-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Below is my abstract for the upcoming International "Heavy Fundamentalism" conference. Yes, I said "International". It's an amazing conference put on by the folks at Critical Issues. It's taking place in Salzburg, Austria. This will be only the second time I've been to Europe, so it will be doubly exciting. I first stumbled upon on this via Terrorizer magazine writer and Judaic scholar (yes, he's both), Keith Khan Harris' fascinating MetalJew blog. I will be expanding this to a full 8 page, Oxford-formatted paper and will also be doing a 20 minute presentation. So, this will be more of an "intellectual" version of hanging out with my friends at a Ludicra show or Amoeba.

Title: Extreme Politics and Extreme Metal: Strange Bedfellows or Fellow Travelers?

Body of abstract:

Extreme Metal’s relation extreme politics provides for a variety of examples. From Slayer’s “Angel of Death” in the 1980’s to the Norwegian Black Metal scene in the 1990’s to the current strain of National Socialist Black Metal – extreme politics have played a role in extreme metal either aesthetically or ideologically. Such combinations are nothing new in the music world. Richard Wagner’s denouncement of Jews is widely known. Performances of his works are still very controversial in Israel. Furthermore, one can look at the 1970’s punk movement in England and its use of using Nazi imagery for shock value. Additionally, racist lyrics have in the past cropped up in hip-hop artists such as Public Enemy and Ice Cube. Heavy Metal’s own relation with such extreme attitudes has a history that has been around almost as long the genre itself.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the growth of both extreme metal and its relation to extreme politics. Extreme Metal can be defined as Thrash Metal (i.e. early Metallica, Kreator), Grindcore (Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer), Death Metal (Morbid Angel, Nile) and black metal (Darkthrone, Burzum). Extreme politics can be defined as both ultra–right (i.e. fascist and Nazi) and on some instances ultra-left wing (communist, anarchist). This will also look into whether or not certain artists are using extreme politics for mere shock or to actually endorse dangerous ideas. Furthermore, this will explore how these ideas have spread worldwide throughout the metal scene. This will also focus on the marketing of each phenomenon across the Internet. While generally considered “outsider” music, there have been numerous media stories, books, documentaries and even art exhibits on Extreme Metal. Such a sensation could explain why Varg Vikernes’ image appearing in a window of a t-shirt shop in such unexpected places such as Berkeley, California. In summary, this will touch on how and why music from the margins of society can be affected by politics from margins of society.

Fake Right Wing Beard vs. Fake Left Wing Beard

2008-08-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Despite their obvious disagreements the left and right had the same design concept here.

vs.

Elite and Empty Headed

2008-08-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

V/A “Anti-Geldof Compilation” (Supernal)

I blogged about this one much earlier Although, it had to do more with the weird concept of “Weird” Al Kurtagic and Supernal Records. Now we’ll cover the music and expand upon the concepts and connections that some of these dodgy bands have. Strangely this release comes after the Accept tribute and the tribute to German National Socialist Black Mental ‘tards, Absurd. Oddly enough KFJC played this. Mostly because it was so “kvlt” or obscure? Who knows?

This sucker’s packed with 2 CDs worth of sounds that are:

"You will find 100% exclusive, never-heard-before tracks by twenty one Black Metal and Dark Ambient artists of proud European heritage from both sides of the Atlantic.” An interesting question appearing in the black-metal.co.uk forum asked about the "elite" nature of this release.

“How does he reconcile the simplistic musicianship of the majority of black metal bands with claims to its superiority as an underground musical artform?“
Necrosadistic via Necrosadistic Goat Torture (actually a pretty good band)

Even more of Kurtagic's strange pre-release babblings can be found here . Kurtagic has also reviewed his own releases on Metal-Archives, a tactic so low, that not even the worst “hard music” PR companies have even stooped to. It seems that Chumbawamba had addressed the issue in a more straight forward manner a mere year after the first Live Aid and likely got much more press from it.

OK, so...onto the music.

WINNERS: Uh, not many but THESYRE certain lays down some killer crusty BM, DARK AGES make nice "spooky organ music" featuring Roman of Drudkh,

MAYBE, COULD BE BETTER BUT... DER STURMER Make a good riff or 3, play with real drums but still can't get around their imperfect sounding German (ironic that). Would've been more impressed if their anti-John Lennon statement was an NSBM version of "Imagine" instead of merely sampling the song and following it with a gunshot. Something a shock jock did over 20 years ago. CONTRA IGNEM FATUUM - decent suicidal BM 'ala Xasthur. Not "martial sounding" as the Sound Project called it. BENIGHTED LEAMS - Kurtagic himself doing Godflesh-lite. Not bad. FOREFATHER - Cascading BM tremelo riffs by the Anglo-Saxon BM/kinda power metal band mix. File under: tried to like it. (Emphasis on "tried").

LOSERS:
EVERY band for participating in this waste of money and packaging. The cover artist, the label everyone who bought this and admired how "awesome" it is. If by awesome you mean pointless then yes. ASTROFEAS (Astrofeast? Astrofarts?) - lawn sprinkler drums + messy vocals. ASHES - "bedroom BM", miles of slow fuzzed out guitar coating a 10 minute sleeping pill. BEWITCHED (Chilé) “Spooky goth” vocals and wavering metalish guitars. Oh, so lame! DARKTHULE is a Greek one man, Black Metal recycling every Youtuber's "me playing Translyvanian Hunger" video. Nein! People like this should NEVER be given music equipment much less a German dictionary.

DEFIANCE is not the Bay Area thrash band or 2000s punk band. Instead, we it's some fat skinhead attempting to poop out a redwood forest of turds and some 2 fingered guitarist along with another pinging drum machine making er, "Bedroom Hatecore"? ETHERAL WOODS sound like "bedroom BM" with keyboards and a big, dopey chorus singing "Natural Selection". Hopefully “natural selection” will weed out these weak Sears catalog keyboard loving fools. They keys sounds about as “atmospheric” a Loverboy outtake. FANISK are Portland area dickwads armed with a grocery baggie of ultra thin tremolo riffs. The vocals shouted from different angles from under the kitchen sink. HAMMER - No, not as in "MC..." Whiny, outta breath vocals. In short a lame version of early 90’s emo mixed with crust punk AND generic ass BM tremelo picking. KENAZ - Sub-sub-sub-sub basement clang, clang, ADD level, zero production no talent CRAP. Kenaz is the rune for torch, someone should torch this band’s rehearsal space and all their recordings.

MORE LOSERS: STALAAG - Tortured cat & grandma noise dementia that some people love for some absurd reason. Fucked up-ness doesn’t = “cool” or even listenable. TANNGRISNIR Growl, growl, bore, bore, mangle riff, repeat 400x. THE WIZZARD - is straight up regular heavy metal? Starts good but oh, the vocals are dumb like every fucking band on every fucking TV report on “nazi hate rock”. ULFHETHNAR - More thin production and guitar levels and buried vocals. There couldbe drumming on here but it’s about as effective as a tambourine in a middle of monster truck race. The dude sounds like he’s about to choke. WHITE HUNTER - Slow grow, more tremolo riffs, ping & sputter cymbals that fade in and out. A poor attempt at the “claustrophobia” effect that Leviathan mastered. This vocalist sound utterly bored and uninterested. WOODS OF INFINITY - "Paedofilic metal"? with a slight but disjointed version of King Diamond en Svensk and slow BM riffs.

Metalspoitation Part 3: "Devil Worship Will Continue After These Messages"

2008-08-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Maximum Rock N' Roll's movie columnist in the early 90's, Jerod Pore came up with the term "Punxsploitation". OK, maybe he didn't coin it but it was the first time I had heard of it. In his column he discussed the mainstream media's take on punk rock and hardcore ranging from the most infamous Quincy episode to lesser known examples from the likes of Morton Downey Jr. interviewing (among others) Joey Ramone among others. Before Ice Cube and 2 Live Crew sent shivers through white suburbia, Punk and Metal were public enemy #1.

This is from 1988. Clearly the "satanic" and "demonic metal" phenomenon had to be confronted by the one, the only...Geraldo.

Even though King Diamond was pretty much a unknown name outside the metal scene, here he got some coverage. Which as an 18 year old I thought was pretty fuggin' rad. "To some it's just rock n' roll rebellion" Totally, dewd! Last King Diamond show I saw in 2003 he wished us in the crowd "Happy Halloween" AND "Merry Christmas". Yes, he is an actual, praying satanist but he knows how to show 'ya a good to time, too.

Typical of this early version of "tabloid TV", Geraldo interviews murderers who follow someone called "satan"and cops who believe the "satanic threat" as real.

These horror movie like descriptions are less to do with "satanism" and more to do with some seriously damaged individuals both the criminals and the media who salivate over big ratings. I'd love to see a list of major crimes done "in the name of satan" vs. "in the name of god". I suspect the G-man is gonna beat 'Ol Scratch by a 10:1 ratio. Finally, how come there's something called "Satanic Ritual Abuse" but not "Christian Propaganda Abuse?" or "Islamic Doctrine Abuse"?

METALSPLOITATION! - Part 2 - Svesnka Svart Metal

2008-06-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you randomly search for "satan" on YouTube you get this:

Part I:

File under worst pick up lines of all time:
"Did you know the drummer from Marduk spat blood on me once ?"

och parte II:

METALSPLOITATION! - Part 1 - cheesy movies, cheesy soundtracks

2008-06-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Alright! It's time to celebrate the genius of goofy genres glomed together as "Metalspoiltation". Here's a few that are on the soundtrack side:

A z-grade Spanish-Swiss "revenge" actioner from the golden age of exploitation films 1966-82. Known in Spain as Los Violadores and banned in Australia for uh..."excessive Krokus content"? It's basically about a guy taking revenge against some nazi biker gang with the occasionally rape scene. Kickboxers vs. nazi biker gang - who wins? Who cares. Dude, it has fuckin' early 80's Krokus on the soundtrack!

Also in the cinema du discount is this non-sensical gem from Umberto Lenzi. Lenzi is most known for the ultra sick and mostly unwatchable cannibal flick "Make Them Die Slowly" aka: Cannibal Ferox. Lenzi also expanded into other genres like this mix of oh, teen sex comedy, random horror, prison drama, Jaws and yes, more biker gangs. It's a little pill called "Nightmare Beach" aka "Welcome to Spring Break"

But really who IS this collection hard rockin' cheese balls on this soundtrack?
Why it's all American cheeseballs like Bobby Rondinelli (who worked with Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow and Quiet Riot - all in their 'lean years') and Derek St. Holmes (from Really Terrible Ted Nugent's band). song by song breakdown, even.

Christ-spolitation or Rated "R" for "Rapture"?

2008-06-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Why does their "Satan" have a ripped up muscle shirt and looks like Paul Lynde?

Ladies & Gentlemen put your hands together for Norway's funnyman, Fenriz!

2008-06-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

I wasn't too sure about Darkthrone and 2nd wave Black Metal when I first delved into it (circa: 1995-98). At first I couldn't get my head around all those cascading, raw riffs. It sounded "too raw". Oddly enough it was the same thing I said about Bathory - whose music I grew to appreciate much more in the late 90's. The first Darkthrone I heard was on a Moonfog Records comp. "Crusade From The North". Once again the words "too raw" came to my mind.

Also, their putting "Norsk Arisk Black Metal (Norwegian Aryan Black Metal)" and some anti-Jewish statement on back of Trasilvanian Hunger
& working with the avowed racist Varg Vikernes didn't help much. Then in the inside of next album, "Panzerfaust" all that made things a little more clear: "Darkthrone is certainly not a Nazi band nor a political band, those of you who still might think so, you can lick Mother Mary's asshole in eternity." Eternity? Anyway, This shows at least their own the same blasphemous, anti-religious path that Black Metal is built upon. (That plus grim vocals & loads of great riffs!)

Flash forward a few years, and Fenriz & co are dropping Seinfeld & South Park references and making mention of artists as varied as M83, Gal Costa, Monika Kruse, Tangerine Dream to World Burns To Death (whose vocalist, Jack Control, Fenriz is friends with). Fenriz despite being in a world renounded Black Metal band still works at the post office sorting mail and most likely sending mix tapes & CD-Rs to his friends when the boss isn't looking. "He who dies with the most music wins" sez Herr Nagel.

Here is Fenriz in top form:

I can tell you background music in the first part is the 70's pomp rock band, Angel. Tho' I'd LOVE to know what t-shirt Fenriz is wearing.

Next up is a really cool feature from Norway's Channel 2 (only about 4-5 channels on regular TV and yet one's got Darkthrone, koolig!")

Finally, this clip is from the re-issue of Darkthrone's Black Metal debut, "A Blaze In The Northern Sky". It feature Fenriz and his partner in crime, Nocturno Culto. Shot in simple black & white in their jam space/cabin, it has the look of a Bergman movie. That is a Bergman movie filmed in the shadow of the horns.

We Play eBay Black Metal Exclusively!

2008-06-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

I wonder who the ultra-collector nerds that are going to pay for this shit

A ton of historical artifacts of the Norwegian and Swedish Black Metal scene being sold by Morgan Hakonsson of Marduk:

"amongst other things i will be listing.

LETTERS FROM DEAD
LETTERS FROM EURONYMOUS(INCLUDING ONE BLOODSTAINED....THAT CONTAINED PART OF deads SKULL AND TWO SHOTGUN PELLETS)(ofcourse the fragment is NOT for sale !) DEAD DRAWINGS.(INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL "DISSECTION DEMO" ONE used on THE GREIF PROPHECY) BURZUM,,DEBUT CD...WITH NO BARCODE!(ONLY 500 PRESSED) WITH THE PACKAGE HANDWRITTEN BY EURONYMOUS."

What? No skull fragments? That's not KVLT! I'd demand my money back.

Music and Politics – Morrissey Rides A Controversial Horse

2008-06-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Former singer of the Smiths and British music tabloid fodder, Morrissey is in a "row" again. The wry yet fey frontman has again been accused of racism based around a late 2007 interview he gave with NME.

In the interview Morrissey says: "Britain's a terribly negative place. And it hammers people down and it pulls you back and it prevents you. Also, with the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears." What complicates the matter is the way Morrissey presents his opinion it's not "England is dying because of immigration full stop." It's more to do with the critique of the general British character? While he doesn't explain what means by "a disappearing British identity", Morrissey makes it pretty clear when looking at the full context of his statement linked here from the Manchester Evening News

"The change in England is so rapid compared to the change in any other country. "If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won't hear an English accent. You'll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent."

Morrissey admitted he enjoyed `the freedom to go around the world ... so you have to allow others the same freedom' adding `so I'm not sitting here saying it's a terrible thing, I'm saying it's a reality and to many people it's shocking'.

In a follow-up phone interview, Morrissey told the magazine: "I just think that it could be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion.

"And that's not true at all. I am actually extremely worldly and there are other reasons why I would find England very difficult, such as the expense and the pressure."

He said: "My favourite actor is an Israeli, Lior Ashkenazi, and my favourite singer was born in Iraq and now lives in Egypt. So I'm not a part of Little Britain. And by that, I don't mean the show, obviously."

Asked about his parents moving to Britain, he said: "It's different now. Because the gates are flooded. And anybody can have access to England and join in. Millions of people leave the country every year because they don't recognise the place, so I'm not saying anything unusual. If you travelled to Croatia tomorrow for instance, and walked around Zagreb hearing nothing but Dublin accents, you'd find it shocking."

Furthermore, Morrissey, called racism "silly" and "beyond reason", in the same article."The Mozzer's" reputation has been damage to the point of taking legal action. He's also wrote a response in the Guardian which expresses his "adoration of James Baldwin, (my) love of Middle Eastern tunings" and much more.

There's also a variety of past ambiguous, yet controversial situations in Morrissey's history in the last two decades. Namely, the lyrics to "Bengali in Platforms". Although, based on the title, is more of a nice, poppy, glam rocker from Pakistan circa: 1973 than a racist screed. The other controversial title being "National Front Disco" which again, works with the construct of the unknown or absurd. In Europe disco is for a "place to dance" whereas in America it typically refers to Saturday Night Fever or flashy, sleazy guys in Angel Flight pants and coke spoon necklaces. It's hard to imagine Nick Griffin doing the hustle to Donna Summer.

Additionally, these Morrisey = racist accusations come from a 1993 Johnny Rogan penned biography, which claimed he once, in his late teens, wrote "I don't hate Pakistanis, but I dislike them immensely". However, NO substantial source is provided.

Additionally, in 1992 Morrissey's went on stage draped in a Union Jack for his performance at the first Madstock! Madness reunion concert at Finsbury Park, London, Plus, his backdrop for this show was a photograph of two female skinheads. The NME responded to this by investigating Morrissey's attitudes to race, claiming he had "left himself in a position where accusations that he's toying with far-right/fascist imagery, and even of racism itself, can no longer just be laughed off with a knowing quip". (New Musical Express, 22 August 1992)

Morrissey's wearing of the British flag to be no more "racist" than The Who & Def Leppard's popularization of Union Jack t-shirts or Stewart Home's use of skinhead imagery in his books. This lies more in the tradition of "taking the piss" out controversial aesthetics rather than endorsing the ideas of nationalism and racism. This type of tradition goes a least back to Monty Python if not further. It might be more useful for NME to investigate the British Blood and Honor organization's expansion into over 30 countries. Granted these are not big name pop stars. However, they are the real thing-they REALLY are racists who REALLY believe in violence & hate towards "those people". Apparently ambiguous pop stars sell more papers than nazi boneheads in Serbia or Sweden.

Nicholas Kristof neo-liberal hack or fascist apologist?

2008-05-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

In going through some old articles, I found one from the New York Times from December 15, 2004. The timing of this isn't so much important as the concept is. In the opinion piece written by Nicholas Kristof . Kristof seems to be a Clintoniod neo-liberal. That is he's pro-human rights in the most obvious places Darfur, China, the Turkish denial of Armenian genocide, etc. Although he's come out in favor of sweatshops. The sweatshops are apparently why South Korea and Taiwan who accepted sweatshops as the price of development- are countries with low rates of infant mortality and high levels of education, while India- which generally has resisted sweatshops - suffers from a high rate of infant mortality (3.1 million Indian children under the age of 5 die every year, mostly from diseases of poverty.) Why not give them a livable wages and make them work a little less. That chunky guy in Amarillo can wait another few months before he gets his size XXXXL Dallas Cowboys jersey, can't he? Oh, that's right it would "destroy competition".

Anyway, the op-ed piece is called "Bullying by Russia haunting neighbors". After listing a litany of spot-on critiques of Vladimir Putin's "poisonous politics" tactics he says:

"In effect, Putin has steered Russian from a dictatorship of the left to a dictatorship of the right (Chinese leaders have done much of te same thing). Mussolini, Franco, Pinochet, (former North Korean dictator) Park Chung Hee and Putin all emerged in socieites suffering from economic and political chaos. All consolidated power in part because they established power order and made the trains - or planes - run on time. That's why Putin stull has 70 percent approval ratings in Russian: He has done well economically, presiding over growth rates of 5 to 10 percent...Russians say, by a margin of 70 to 21 that a strong leader can solve their problems better than a democratic form of government."

The Chinese are ruled by a reactionary hypercaptialist government with a few faux-state socialist flourishes just to make to make everyone feel "safe". I'm not sure which "wing" they belong to but regardless it's a corrupt government with a shitload of money. The "strong leader" idea seems to be part true and part conventional wisdom when it comes to Russia. The next part of Kristof's piece is the WTF part:

"Still, a fascist Russia is much better thing than a Communist Russia. Communism was a failed economic system while Franco's Spain, Pinochet's Chile and the other generated solid economic growth, a middle class and international contacts - ultimately laying the groundwork for democracy. Eventually we'll see pro-democracy demonstrations in Moscow like those in Kiev." (Referring to Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" of 2004).

So, what kind of country does Russia have if their only choices are Communism or Fascism? This is what they were dealing with in WWII. I don't think anyone with a real strive toward real freedom would want to be that limited. On the other hand there are people that still miss Stalin. According to the London Times:

"A recent poll by the All Russian Public Opinion Research Centre found that 50 per cent of respondents thought Stalin’s role in history was positive".

Oddly enough there are pro-democracy demonstrations in Russia. or at least a variety of groups who want to express their democratic rights to free expression. Then again these demos are usually led by the batshit crazy National Bolsheviks aka: The Worst Extremes of the left and right. Not exactly a "great day for democracy" when these lunatics are representing it.

The news as written by death metal bands

2008-05-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

Same day, same paper, and even on the same page.